Asian stocks gain on US rally and weaker crude prices

Hong Kong: Asian stocks rebounded yesterday, driven higher by Wall Street's rally and slumping oil prices.

In Japan the benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 1.6 per cent to 13,367.79, recovering from its 1.5 per cent loss the day before.

Hong Kong's blue-chip Hang Seng Index climbed 1.9 per cent to 22,690.60. Australia, the Philippines and Singapore shares gained as well; mainland China markets lost ground.

Yesterday's bounce in Asia followed Wall Street, where the Dow Jones industrial average shot up almost 2.4 per cent on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Light, sweet crude for September delivery fell 59 cents to $121.60 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by evening in Singapore. The contract dropped $2.54 to settle at $122.19 a barrel on Tuesday.

In Hong Kong, the market moved higher on buying in most sectors.

Sinking oil prices helped Chinese refineries. China Petroleum & Chemical Corp, or Sinopec, soared 4.9 per cent.

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the country's leading lender, rallied 4 per cent.

In China, stocks retreated from early gains as losses in property and other large capitalised shares dragged down the market.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.5 per cent to 2,836.67. The Shenzhen Composite Index lost 0.4 per cent to 852.52.