Oil gains on Kuwait strike; global shares highest since Dec

By Caroline Valetkevitch NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices rose on Tuesday following a workers' strike in Kuwait, while a global stock index hit its highest level since early December as signs of economic stabilization in China lifted demand for riskier assets. The rise in crude prices drove up the currencies of countries dependent on commodity exports, including Australia and Canada, where the local currency rose to 10-month and 9-month highs against the U.S. dollar, respectively. Copper prices a