Asian shares extend gains on Wall St rally

Asian markets rose on Wednesday, adding to the previous day’s rally, following a positive lead from Wall Street while concerns over the Ukraine air crash crisis ease. The euro was wallowing at multi-month lows against the dollar and yen as the West considers another round of sanctions against Russia for its support of Ukrainian rebels who have been accused of shooting down Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 on Thursday. Tokyo rose 0.10 per cent, Hong Kong gained 0.25 per cent, Sydney added 0.82 per cent, Seoul was 0.18 per cent higher and Shanghai was flat. Jakarta rose 0.78 per cent a day after officials declared business-friendly and reform-minded Joko Widodo the winner of the country's tight presidential election. Global markets rebounded on Tuesday on news that pro-Russian rebels had handed over the black boxes from the Malaysian passenger jet that came down in eastern Ukraine with the loss of almost 300 people, according to AFP.