Bangkok - Asian shares surged on Friday, shrugging off stubbornly high oil prices after signs that US companies are hiring more workers boosted Wall Street.
Oil prices inched above $102 a barrel as fighting between Libyan government and rebel forces intensified, raising investor fears of protracted oil output cuts in the Opec nation. The dollar rose against the yen but slipped against the euro.
The Nikkei 225 stock average, Japan's main benchmark, climbed 0.9% to 10 683, with a weakening yen helping major exporters like Canon, up 2.5%, and Toyota, up 1.2%.
South Korea's Kospi jumped 1.5% at 1 999.26. Advancing shares include Korean Air Lines, the country's flagship carrier, up 2.4%, and Asiana Airlines, up 3.9%. Other Asian airline stocks advanced, including China Southern Airlines, up 3.2%; and Cathay Pacific Airways, up 2%.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index rose 1.1% to 4 860, while benchmarks in Singapore, Taiwan, New Zealand and Indonesia also were up.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index added 1.2% to 23 398.31, although trading was light, with investors taking a wait-and-see approach ahead of the National People's Congress, which opens Saturday in Beijing. During the annual session, China's legislature is expected to outline the country's social and economic goals for the next five years.
"We expect the Chinese government will indicate that inflation is priority No. 1," said Jackson Wong, vice president at Tanrich Securities in Hong Kong. "Investors are worried about strong administrative action from the Chinese government to curb inflation, although I doubt it."
Markets have struggled to regain their calm following weeks of turmoil in the Arab world, where popular revolts in Tunisia and Egypt recently brought down long-standing authoritarian regimes. Libya may be the next domino, with a violent rebellion there aimed at overthrowing Moammar Gadhafi that has sent oil prices to their highest levels in about two years.
Analysts are worried that sustained oil prices above $100 would eventually threaten global economic growth. Wong said he expects oil prices to remain high.
"We do expect oil prices to drop below ($100) if Middle East tensions are resolved. However, if the world economy is recovering, especially in the US and Europe, that would drive demand for oil higher. And also Chinese demand is constantly high. So oil prices are very unlikely to drop further," Wong said.
Asia's upswing came on the heels of a strong showing by shares on Wall Street, where the Dow Jones industrial average rose 1.6% to 12 258.20 - its biggest gain since December 1. The Standard & Poor's 500 index climbed 1.7% to 1 330.97. The Nasdaq composite index gained 1.8% to 2 798.74.
In a positive sign for the economy there, the Labour Department said first-time claims for unemployment benefits fell to their lowest level since May 2008. Economists had expected the number to rise.
Separately, the Institute for Supply Management said its measure of hiring by service companies rose to the highest level since April 2006. The index covers a broad range of industries including retail, health care and financial services.
The signs of job growth followed a report on Wednesday that private employers added far more jobs than analysts had expected last month. Those gains are raising hopes that Friday's jobs report from the Labour Department will show that the unemployment rate fell from its current level of 9%.
Benchmark crude for April delivery was up 10c to $102.01 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract gave up 32c to settle at $101.91 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Thursday.
In currencies, the dollar rose to ¥82.34 from ¥82.31 late on Thursday while the euro slipped to $1.3955 from $1.3960.