Asian shares piggyback on US rally

Asian shares pushed higher Friday following a rally in US markets, but China's benchmark sank again on worries over the potential impact of a flurry of initial public offerings and moves by regulators to curb margin trading. Thai shares fell after authorities confirmed the country's first known case of the deadly MERS virus. Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.7 per cent to 20,138.88 and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong added 1.1 per cent to 26,984.05. South Korea's Kospi gained 0.6 per cent to 2,054.40 and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 jumped 1.3 per cent to 5,595.60. The Shanghai Composite Index dropped 2.1 per cent to 4,687.32 and the smaller Shenzhen Composite Index lost 2.6 per cent to 2,839.29. Chinese shares have backed away from recent peaks. Thailand's SET index slipped 0.2 per cent to 1,505.17, according to AP.