Asian shares rise

Asian shares rose Wednesday as dealers moved in after two poor performances at the start of the week, with Tokyo lifted by a weaker yen and strong results from computer giant Dell.
Tokyo gained 0.99 percent, or 95.06 points, to 9,662.08, Hong Kong added 0.48 percent, or 110.06 points, to 23,011.14 and Shanghai ended up 0.70 percent, or 20 points, at 2,872.77.
Seoul put on 1.59 percent, or 33.37 points, to end at 2,135.78.
The Nikkei was also boosted by a relatively weaker yen as hopes rose the European sovereign debt crisis can be solved after a 78-billion-euro bailout for Portugal was signed off and talks continued over further help for Greece.
Leading eurozone policy-maker Jean-Claude Juncker said a "soft restructuring" of Athens' 330-billion-euro debt is a possibility as an EU-IMF mission in Athens was extended by one week.
The euro gained to $1.4275 in Tokyo trade, up from $1.4234 in New York late Tuesday.
The single European currency held on to most of its gains against the yen, standing at 115.72 in Tokyo, little changed from 115.79 yen in New York.
The dollar slipped against the Japanese yen to 81.08 yen from 81.36 yen.
On oil markets New York's main contract, light sweet crude for June delivery advanced 79 cents to $97.70 a barrel and Brent North Sea crude for July delivery gained 60 cents to $110.59.
Gold closed at $1,493.00-$1,494.00 per ounce, down slightly from its Tuesday close of $1,494.00-$1,495.00.
In other markets:
Singapore closed 0.15 percent, or 4.73 points, higher at 3,141.21. Bangkok lost 0.83 percent, or 9.05 points, to close at 1,075.91.
Mumbai fell 0.28 percent, or 51.15 points, to 18,086.2. The country's largest lender, the State Bank of India, lost ground again after reporting weak quarterly earnings on Tuesday. It finished down 57.9 rupees or 2.4 percent at 2,355.7.