Techs, materials lead Asia shares higher

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Intel Corp
INTC.O
$19.86
+0.24+1.22%
04/19/2011

SINGAPORE | Tue Apr 19, 2011 9:21pm EDT
(Reuters) - Asian stocks rose on Wednesday, following a rebound on Wall Street and in Europe on upbeat corporate results, and commodity-linked currencies such as the Australian dollar also gained as momentum returned to metals markets.

Japan's Nikkei share average .N225 rose 1.5 percent, while MSCI's index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan gained nearly 1 percent, led by the tech and materials sectors, which both jumped more than 1 percent. .T

A clutch of U.S. technology heavyweights, led by chip maker Intel Corp (INTC.O), reported strong results after the Wall Street close. Earlier, healthy profits from healthcare and materials companies had helped lift the S&P 500 .SPX 0.6 percent. .N

The euro traded around $1.4365, having bounced off a two-week low around $1.4155 set on Monday. The Australian dollar bought around $1.0565, heading back toward a 29-year peak of $1.0585 set on April 8.

Oil prices were little changed, with Brent crude easing a little to $121.21 a barrel and U.S. crude edging up a touch to $108.32.

Gold traded around $1,495 an ounce, just short of a record.

(Writing by Alex Richardson; Editing by Richard Borsuk)