Asia follows Wall Street higher, upbeat U.S. data lifts dollar

By Shinichi Saoshiro TOKYO (Reuters) - Asia stocks followed Wall Street higher early on Wednesday, while the dollar firmed against major peers such as the yen following the release of upbeat U.S. economic data overnight. Crude oil prices held large gains on expectations of supply tightening once oil-producing nations implement a scheduled output cut. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.2 percent.