Japan's shares up following a positive lead from the US

Japan's shares rose almost 0.7% in early trading as a recovery in oil prices and a positive lead from the US helped boost investor sentiment.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 was up 0.67% to 16,022.71 points in mid-morning trade. Sydney's benchmark ASX 200 was down 0.2%, adding to Wednesday's 2% fall.

Analysts said investors there were reacting to a disappointing outlook for future national capital expenditure.

Shares in Australia's biggest casino company, Crown Resorts, fell heavily.

It reported a slump in half-year profits, dented by a sharp slowdown at its Chinese operations.

The firm's Sydney-listed shares tumbled more than 9% on the profit report, but recovered some of that loss to trade 5% lower.

In China, shares were in negative territory in mid-morning trade. The Shanghai Composite index was down 1.78% to 2,876.88, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong was down 0.6% to 19,075.11.

South Korea's Kospi index was up 0.5% to 1,921.07.