Asian markets firm, energy producers rally

Asian markets were piling on gains in the morning session followed by overnight gains on Wall Street and rally in commodity stocks.

US markets ended higher on upbeat earnings forecast and news that Japan and China will buy bonds issued by Europe's financial aid fund bolstered sentiment. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended up 0.3%, at 11,672. The S&P 500 Index gained 0.4%, to 1,275 and the Nasdaq Composite Index advanced .3%, to 2,716.83.

In Asia, Hong Kong's Heng Seng climbed above 24,000, currently the index surged 0.9%, at 23,979 led by gains in energy producers after a sharp rise in crude prices. China's Shanghai Composite and Japan's Nikkei 225 were up 0.5% each. Singapore's Strait Straits Times was trading flat, South Korea's Seoul Composite was up 0.3% and Taiwan Weighted advanced 0.4%.