In Asia today, the Nikkei closed up 113.74 points at 17,424.18, while the Hang Seng ended the morning up 311.91 points at an all-time high of 20,639.63.
New York Mercantile Exchange's main oil contract, light sweet crude for February delivery, was at $52.38 a barrel, 39 cents higher than its level of$ 51.99 in late trading in the US Friday.