Asian stocks rose Wednesday after Wall Street rebounded as investors waited for U.S. inflation data that might influence the pace of Federal Reserve interest rate hikes, the Associated Press reported. The Shanghai Composite Index advanced 0.8% to 3,481.24 and the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo gained 1.1% to 27,579.87. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong was 1.9% higher at 24,794.80. The Kospi in Seoul rose 0.8% to 2,768.76 and Sydney's S&P-ASX 200 added 1.1% to 7,268.30. India's Sensex opened up 0.7% at 58,208.01. New Zealand and Southeast Asia markets rose. In energy markets, benchmark U.S. crude gained 26 cents to $89.62 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell $1.96 the previous session to $89.36. Brent crude, the price basis for international oils, rose 25 cents to $91.03 per barrel in London. It lost $1.91 on Tuesday to $90.78. The dollar declined to 115.48 yen from Tuesday's 115.54 yen. The euro advanced to $1.1427 from $1.1413.
