HONG KONG - A rise on Wall Street and a stronger greenback gave Asian stocks a lift on Thursday, with Sydney showing confidence despite disastrous floods, although Shanghai was in consolidation mode.
Japan's Nikkei index ended the session up 1.44 percent, or 148.99 points, at 10,529.76, led by exporter stocks, reflecting the firmer dollar against the yen.
Sydney's S&P/ASX 200 index gained 0.21 percent, or 10.10 points, to reach 4,725.00, after lagging behind other markets on Wednesday due to worries about the effects of massive flooding on the coal industry.
According to IHS Global Insight, the floods have led to the closure of an estimated 90 million tons of annual production capacity.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng was flat by lunch, while Shanghai's Composite was off 0.61 percent.
US stocks closed higher on Wednesday after a surprise jump in private sector jobs and solid growth in the service sector.
The dollar held firm against the yen in Asia, standing at 83.25 yen in Tokyo, a tad up from 83.24 yen in New York late Wednesday, when it soared from 82.00 yen the day before.
The dollar also firmed against the euro, which fell to $1.3139 in Tokyo from $1.3150 in New York. The single European currency eased to 109.38 yen from 109.42 yen.
Ahead of monthly jobs figures due Friday, US private payrolls firm ADP reported that the US private sector added 297,000 jobs in December, more than three times the number created in November.
"The strong jobs data fuelled expectations that the non-farm payrolls data to be released may be strong as well," Hideyuki Ishiguro, an investment strategy supervisor at Okasan Securities in Tokyo, told Dow Jones Newswires.
In Hong Kong, developer stocks outperformed after a report that blue chip property firm Cheung Kong is planning the city's first yuan-denominated initial public offering, of a real-estate investment trust, in the first quarter.
In Shanghai, energy stocks slipped back after strong gains around New Year, with worries returning about a likely interest rate hike to tame rampant inflation.
In New York Wednesday the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended up 0.27 percent, the broader S&P 500 index gained 0.50 percent and the tech-rich Nasdaq climbed 0.78 percent.
Oil prices were mixed, despite a sharp fall in US crude inventories adding to the mood of recovery.
New York's main contract, light sweet crude for February delivery, was up four cents to $90.34 per barrel in the afternoon and Brent North Sea crude for February was down 21 cents to $95.29.
Gold opened at $1,375.00-$1,376.00 an ounce in Hong Kong, down from Wednesday's close of $1,383.50-$1,384.50.
In other markets:
-- Seoul fell 0.24 percent, or 4.94 points, to 2,077.61.
-- Manila rose 0.10 percent, or 4.27 points, to 4,217.25.
Top-traded Nickel Asia Corp. was up 5.0 percent at 18.46 pesos, while Manila Electric Co. rose 1.5 percent to 245.60 pesos.
-- Wellington edged up 1.72 points to 3,326.71.
-- Taipei rose 0.42 percent, or 36.90 points, to 8,883.21.
Chinatrust Financial Holding was 4.61 percent higher at Tw$21.55, while Cathay Real Estate Development rose 2.6 percent to 19.7 Taiwanse dollars.
