Asian markets trade higher

Asian markets surged in the morning session lifted by gains on Wall Street and rally in Japanese technology shares.

US markets logged gains on encouraging earnings from technology companies and larger than expected rise in existing home sales. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.5% and the Nasdaq Composite gained 2.1% and the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index added 1.4%.

In Asia the Nikkei Stock Average was up 0.6% led by gains in tech shares building on strong earnings reported by US technology companies.

Hang Seng advanced 1.2% buoyed by resource and financial shares. Shanghai Composite also gained 0.7%. South Korea's Kospi Composite advanced 1.3%, Taiwan's weighted index climbed 02% and Singapore's Strait Times edged up 1%.