Asia markets rise; Nikkei up 0.8%, Kospi up 0.4% and ASX up 0.5%
Asia markets advanced on Wednesday morning, supported by broad dollar weakness and higher oil prices overnight, with Japanese stocks extending gains from the previous session on the back of a relatively weaker yen. The benchmark Nikkei 225 was up 0.77 percent in early trade. Across the Korean Strait, the Kospi was higher by 0.44 percent, while Australia's ASX 200 added 0.54 percent, led by a 2 percent gain in the energy subindex. Rodrigo Catril, a currency strategist with the National Australia Bank, wrote in an early morning note, "Commodities are higher across the board while commodity related currencies sit at the top of the G10 leader board, with the yen the only currency weaker against the dollar." As of 8:22 a.m. HK/SIN time, the dollar/yen pair traded at 109.07, a 0.11 percent drop from its overnight close at 109.17. That compares with the 108 level it traded at on Tuesday during Asian hours. Major Japanese exporters were mixed, with shares of Toyota down