Asian shares rise on upbeat data Asian shares drifted higher as investors took heart from positive economic data in Europe and the US, although gains were limited by higher oil prices. Sentiment improved after US weekly jobless claims held steady at its lowest level in nearly four years, while Germany's business confidence index rose to a seven-month high. Still, trading was tepid amid concerns that crude oil prices could pose a threat to the global economic recovery. "Rising oil prices are not good for energy-hungry economies," said Justin Harper, strategist at IG Markets in Singapore. The FTSE Asia Pacific index was up 0.3 per cent at 247.81. Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average continued its advance, climbing 0.5 per cent to 9,647.38, led by oil companies as crude prices hit fresh highs. Inpex, Japan's leading oil explorer, climbed 5.1 per cent to Y603,000, while Japan Petroleum Exploration added 2.9 per cent to Y4,065. Parco came into the spotlight on a media report that J Front Retailing would take over the shopping centre operator. Parco shares ended 14.7 per cent higher at Y782, while J Front added 1.5 per cent to Y397. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.5 per cent to 4,306.78, also led by energy stocks, with Woodside Petroleum up 4.6 per cent to A$40.70. Echo Entertainment was the biggest gainer on the Sydney index, however, as the casino operator came under takeover speculation after larger rival Crown Ltd doubled its stake in Echo to 10 per cent. Shares in Echo jumped 13.2 per cent to A$4.30, while Crown eased 1.5 per cent to A$8.30. Corporate earnings were also in focus in Sydney. AGL Energy, the gas and electricity distributor, tumbled 4.7 per cent to A$13.67 on its lower than expected first-half earnings. Newcrest Mining lost 4.3 per cent to A$34.55 after the country's largest gold miner said its March quarter production would be hit by problems at its Lihir mine. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index climbed 0.1 per cent to 21,406.86 and China's Shanghai Composite index jumped 1.3 per cent to 2,439.63. AIA Group, the insurance company, jumped 3.3 per cent to HK$28.30 on better than expected earnings.