HONG KONG -- Asian shares rose on Thursday, Reuters reported.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.52%, although trading was thin with Japanese and Korean markets closed for public holidays.

Early moves in Asia followed a U.S. rally overnight where the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 2.81%, the S&P 500 gained 2.99%, and the Nasdaq advanced 3.19%.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six peers, was at 102.56, having been as firm as 103.63 on Wednesday.

Oil extended gains on Thursday after the European Union, the world's largest trading bloc, on spelled out plans to phase out imports of Russian oil. U.S. crude futures gained 0.5% to $108.36 a barrel and Brent rose 0.6% $110.8. Both benchmarks rose over $5 a barrel on Wednesday.

Source: Saudi Press Agency