In Asia today, the Nikkei closed up 325.69 points at 17,090.31 and the Hang Seng
ended the morning ahead 122.97 points at 19,041.61.
New York Mercantile Exchange's main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for
delivery in April, was up 11 cents at $61.93 a barrel from $61.82 in late trading in
the US overnight.