Hong Kong: Asian shares rose on Tuesday, with Tokyo extending a recent rally after the yen hit a fresh six-year low against the dollar, while the pound struggled to recover from the previous day`s sell-off fuelled by fears of Scottish independence.
The gains came despite a soft lead from Wall Street, while trade was quiet owing to public holidays in Hong Kong and Seoul.
Tokyo rose 0.45 percent, Sydney added 0.19 percent and Shanghai edged 0.10 percent higher.
Japanese exporters were the main winners in early trade a day after the dollar broke above the 106 yen level for the first time since October 2008, at the height of the financial crisis.
The greenback picked up in New York after Friday`s disappointing US jobs data was put into perspective by another round of weak Japanese growth figures and anaemic Chinese trade statistics.
However, equities markets on Wall Street were not as strong. The Dow eased 0.16 percent and the S&P 500 fell 0.31 percent while the Nasdaq edged up 0.20 percent.
John Kicklighter, chief currency strategist at DailyFX, said the dollar`s latest rise was "less to the dollar`s own intrinsic merits and more to the exceptional weakness of its counterparts".
The dollar fetched 106.07 yen in early Asian business, compared with 106.03 yen in New York.
The euro was also under pressure after the European Central Bank last week announced a fresh interest rate cut and fresh easing measures. The single currency bought $1.2892 -- a 14-month low -- and 136.73 yen against $1.2895 and 136.72 yen in New York.
The pound was stuck at a 10-month low against the dollar after tumbling on Monday in response to a survey that showed for the first time more people in Scotland could vote for independence from the United Kingdom than against.
The British pound bought $1.6101, its weakest since November and well down from $1.6323 on Friday before the survey. The news has given a jolt to investors who had not envisaged a victory for the "Yes" campaign and so had not priced in the effects of a break-up of the UK.
On oil markets US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for October delivery rose 40 cents to $93.06 while Brent crude for October was up seven cents at $100.27.
Gold was at $1,257.59 an ounce, against $1,265.51 late Monday.
