Asian Stocks Rise As Oil Rebounds, US GDP Revision Is Better Than Expected

Asian stocks rose on Wednesday after oil prices edged higher and the U.S. reported slightly better-than-expected economic growth, boosting U.S. stocks. Japanese financial markets are closed for the Emperor's birthday.

Australia's ASX 200 rose for a sixth day, gaining 0.8 percent. New Zealand's NZX 50 rose 0.7 percent and Singapore's STI 0.3 percent. Korea's KOSPI was little changed.

In the U.S. on Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1 percent, the S&P 500 0.9 percent, the Nasdaq Composite 0.7 percent.

The U.S. revised its third quarter economic growth figure to 2 percent, though economists expected 1.9 percent.

Meanwhile, the U.S. oil benchmark rose while Brent, the global benchmark, rebounded after touching an 11-year low after the American Petroleum Institute released data showing an unexpected drop in stockpiles, Reuters said. Higher oil prices tend to benefit energy companies and resource-rich countries like Australia. Oil has fallen from over $100 per barrel in mid-2014 as U.S. production climbed, China's economy slowed, weakening global demand and Saudi Arabia refused to cut production.

China, which has been using stimulus measures to try to boost growth, disclosed plans to address long-term issues hampering economic activity.

“Consumer spending looks like it’s helping the U.S. economy,” said James Lindsay, an Auckland-based fund manager at Nikko Asset Management Co., which manages $160 billion globally, according to Bloomberg. “The key things are still what happens with China, the flow-on effects into commodities and what the Fed does and how that affects sentiment and currencies.”