TOKYO -- Asian shares rose Tuesday as both Koreas and the US appeared to indicate a willingness to defuse the crisis over North Korea's nuclear program. A rally on Wall Street, on the back of strong technology shares, also helped.
KEEPING SCORE: Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 gained 1.3% to 19,789.13 in morning trading. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 added 0.5% to 5,757.50. South Korea's markets were closed for a national holiday. Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.2% to 27,308.04, while the Shanghai Composite was up 0.2% at 3,242.26.
NORTH KOREA: North Korea said Tuesday leader Kim Jong Un was briefed on his military's plans to launch missiles into waters near Guam. But the comments also appeared to signal a path to defuse the deepening crisis with Washington, holding out the possibility that friction could ease if the US made some gesture that Pyongyang considered a move to back away from previous ``extremely dangerous reckless actions.''
WALL STREET: The S&P 500 jumped 24.52 points, or 1%, to 2,465.84. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 135.39 points, or 0.6%, to 21,993.71. The Nasdaq composite added 83.68 points, or 1.3%, to 6,340.23.
THE QUOTE: ``The markets continue to recover from last week's disorder as US equities orchestrated a splendid showing recouping some of the sharp losses from last Friday, as investor confidence returns with the de-escalation of North Korea tension,'' says Stephen Innes, head of trading for Asia at OANDA.
ENERGY: US crude oil added 2 cents to $47.61 a barrel. It lost $1.23 to $47.59 a barrel in New York Monday. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 4 cents to $50.77 a barrel in London.
CURRENCIES: The dollar rose to 110.40 yen from 109.57 yen late Monday in Asia. The euro fell to $1.1756 from $1.1816.