In Asia this morning, the Nikkei closed up 57.31 points at 14,680.43 with the Hang Seng up just 5.23 points at 14,888.55 at the midpoint.
Oil prices were higher in Asian trading as investors returned to a heavily oversold market. New York's main contract, light sweet crude for January delivery rose 43 cents to $57.64 a barrel from its close of $57.21 in US trading Friday.