Asian stocks up after US gains

Asian stocks rose today after US markets gained on stronger corporate profits and China reported a rebound in economic growth in the latest quarter.

Oil edged up, staying above 100 dollars after briefly dipping below that level last week for the first time in three months.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index rose 0.7 to 14,670.94 and China’s benchmark Shanghai Composite Index added 0.1% to 2,196.46. Hong Kong, Seoul and Sydney also rose.

That came after US stocks rose on Friday on unexpectedly strong profits from General Electric Co., Morgan Stanley and other companies. Google surged nearly 14%, topping 1,000 dollars a share for the first time.

Investors appeared to put behind them at least temporarily concern over U.S. government finances after political leaders agreed to end a 16-day partial shutdown of official services. Congress agreed on Wednesday to fund the government and allow it to borrow through early next year.

Also on Friday, investors were encouraged by China’s report that economic growth accelerated to 7.8% in the three months ended in September, up from the previous quarter’s 7.5%.

That was despite warnings by some analysts that other indicators show the recovery, supported by government spending, might already be running out of steam.

Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.6% to 23,477.48. Seoul added 0.1% to 2,052.49 and Sydney’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.7% to 5,358.50. New Zealand, Singapore and Jakarta also gained.

Taipei bucked the trend, shedding 0.1% to 8,428.27.

In currency markets, the dollar gained 0.3% to 97.95 yen. The euro shed just under 0.1% to 1.3675 dollars.

Benchmark crude for November delivery edged up 13 cents to 100.94 dollars in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract added 14 cents on Friday to close at 100.81 dollars.