Asian Shares Rise On China Plan To Fix Long-Term Economic Issues

Asian shares rose early Tuesday after China disclosed plans Monday for boosting growth and U.S. stocks gained. Stocks in Australia, a key raw materials supplier of China, led the advance.

Australia's ASX 200 rose 0.7 percent, New Zealand's NZX 50 0.4 percent and Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.1 percent. Singapore's STI was down 0.3 percent, while South Korea's KOSPI was little changed.

In the U.S. on Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite all rose from from 0.7 percent to 0.9 percent. Apple, the world's most valuable company, climbed 1.2 percent.

China, which has been using stimulus policies to try to boost economic growth, will focus on long-term problems such as a property glut and industrial overcapacity next year, the Wall Street Journal predicted. Also on the agenda: lowering the cost of doing business and reducing financial risks.

The prospect of improved demand from China boosted energy and commodity stocks in Australia and elsewhere, countering the drag of lower oil prices. The boost may be temporary with oil prices expected to stay low due to U.S. production and the lifting of a ban on U.S. crude exports, Saudi Arabia's refusal to cut production, slow China and global growth and the prospect of Iran oil returning to market with economic sanctions expected to be lifted as early as next month.

"A strong dollar, weak global demand and high inventories have caused oil prices to collapse this year, and while prices could fall further in the near term as the U.S. ends its 40-year ban on oil exports and sanctions are lifted on Iran, when the dollar peaks, commodities will bottom," said Kathy Lien, managing director for foreign-exchange strategy at BK Asset Management, as reported by CNBC. "The price of oil could fall below $30 a barrel, but we do not see much weakness beyond that, and by the end of the year we expect prices to settle closer to $40."

Oil, which was above $100 a barrel in mid-2014, has been below $40 for two weeks since Saudi Arabia refused to cut production at the Dec. 4 OPEC meeting. Brent crude, the global benchmark, fell to an 11-year low of $36.04 on Monday before closing at $36.27, Reuters reported. The U.S. benchmark WTI came close to a 7-year low, closing at $34.20.