Asian markets defy negative Wall Street lead

Major Asian markets defied a negative lead from Wall Street on Thursday, with Shanghai performing especially strongly and Japan Post shares soaring again in Tokyo. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange was up 1.03 percent by 0245 GMT, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong rose 0.27 percent. "The government has successfully clamped down on short selling," said Francis Cheung, a senior strategist at brokerage CLSA in Hong Kong.