Asian shares mostly gain after rally on Wall Street

BANGKOK (AP) — Stocks were mostly higher in Asia on Tuesday, tracking the latest rally on Wall Street. Oil prices and U.S. futures advanced and the dollar was trading near 149 Japanese yen.

A release of China's most recent economic growth figures was postponed Monday, removing one factor that had been expected to drive trading. No specific reason was given, but the GDP report might have conflicted with the confident tone of a Communist Party congress being held in Beijing, by showing the economy grew by as little as 3% in the latest quarter, barely half the official 5.5% target.

There was little immediate news from the gathering in Beijing, where the party is expected to unveil its top leadership for the next five years a day after the congress closes.

Some analysts speculated that the delay was due to signs of further weakening in the economy. ING Economics said in a report that while the data weren't likely to “paint a particularly positive picture of the Chinese economy" when they are eventually released, “the delay suggests that the government believes that the 20th Party Congress is the most important thing happening in China right now and would like to avoid other information flows that could create mixed messages."

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index surged 1.7% to 16,888.79, while the Shanghai Composite index slipped 0.1% to 3,080.96.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index rose 1.4% to 27,156.14 and the Kospi in Seoul climbed 1.4% to 2,249.95. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 advanced 1.7% to 6,779.20. India's Sensex rose 1%.

The dollar was trading at 148.96 Japanese yen, down from 148.98 yen. Senior Japanese officials have indicated they might intervene in the market to try to stem volatility and support the yen, which has weakened sharply against the dollar this year.

The euro...