Asian shares mostly up

Asian stock markets mostly rose Thursday, with Shanghai ending sharply higher and Tokyo hitting a three-month high on the back of higher commodity prices and a weaker yen.
Tokyo climbed 1.53 percent on anticipation of a rebound in global demand and as investors cheered the yen's recent drop, which is good for exports.
Hong Kong shares edged up 0.88 percent while Sydney rose 1.05 percent and Seoul added 1.26 percent. Manila and Jakarta were closed for public holidays.
TOKYO: Up 1.53 percent. The Nikkei-225 climbed 158.89 points to 10,536.92, posting the best finish since September 24.
HONG KONG: Up 0.88 percent. The Hang Seng Index rose 188.26 points to 21,517 in a half-day of trading.
SHANGHAI: Up 2.59 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index, which covers both A and B shares, was up 79.63 points at 3,153.41 after an overnight rise in steel and ore prices.
SEOUL: Up 1.26 percent. The KOSPI rose 20.99 points to 1,682.34.
TAIPEI: Up 0.79 percent. The weighted index rose 62.04 points to 7,963.54, climbing for a fifth straight trading day.
SINGAPORE: Down 0.14 percent. The Straits Times Index fell 3.86 points to 2,837.70 amid quiet trade in the run-up to Christmas.
BANGKOK: Down 0.35 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) composite index edged down 2.59 points to close at 727.21 and the bluechip SET-50 index was off 1.87 points to 514.26.
KUALA LUMPUR: Up 0.27 percent.
The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index edged up 3.41 points to 1,263.94, lifted by gains in property and construction stocks.
MUMBAI: Up 0.75 percent. The 30-share benchmark Sensex ended the day 129.5 points up at 17,360.61, posting a third day of gains as auto and metal stocks strengthened on the back of firm global market trends, dealers said.