Asian share markets edged ahead on Thursday after a sharp rise in oil prices whetted risk appetites and boosted Wall Street, with even Japanese stocks regaining a little ground despite a rising yen.
The dollar also stayed under pressure after minutes from the latest Federal Reserve meeting showed many participants wanted to move cautiously on rate hikes, partly because there was little room to ease policy should things turn for the worse.
Japan's Nikkei .N225 eked out a bounce of 0.5 percent, having sunk to a seven-week low on Wednesday as a surging yen left it with five straight sessions of losses.
Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said on Thursday the central bank would take additional monetary easing steps if needed, but the market seems to doubt he can do much more.
The gains for oil boosted energy stocks and gave Wall Street a lift. The Dow .DJI had ended Wednesday 0.64 percent higher, while the S&P 500. SPX gained 1.05 percent and the Nasdaq .IXIC 1.59 percent.
Aiding risk sentiment were minutes of the Fed's last meeting which showed many members reluctant to hike further in the face of global uncertainty.
Reference: Reuters
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