BANGKOK (AP) - World markets were mostly higher Thursday amid higher commodity prices and as President Barack Obama pressed world leaders at the Group of 20 summit to work together to advance the economic recovery.
Oil prices jumped above $88 a barrel, boosted by news that U.S. crude and gasoline stockpiles declined last week in a sign of improving demand for fuel. Some metals were also higher, and the dollar rose against the euro and the yen.
European markets advanced in early trading. Britain's FTSE 100 was up 0.3 percent to 5,831.70. Germany's DAX was 0.4 percent higher to 6,747.10 and France's CAC-40 rose 0.3 percent to 3,899.98. But ahead of the opening bell in New York, Dow futures were down slightly, less than 0.1 percent to 11,298.
Meetings of world leaders in South Korea on Thursday and Friday and in Japan on the weekend provided the background to trading.
Tensions over currencies and trade gaps are overhanging the Group of 20 and APEC summits as America's move to flood its sluggish economy with $600 billion of cash and weaken the dollar triggers alarm in export-reliant nations from China to Germany.
Obama tried to defuse tensions, saying a strong U.S. economy would help the rest of the world and called on other leaders to work in concert to craft a new economic order to replace one powered by the U.S. running huge trade deficits while other countries accumulate vast surpluses.
Some analysts said there was speculation China would make concessions to allow its currency to rise at a faster pace, which could attract hot money to China's markets as investors anticipate short-term gains in the value of Chinese assets from a rising yuan.
"When high officials from China and the U.S. meet, people expect something might happen to the Chinese currency - most likely that would mean appreciation, so that puts more speculation on fund flows into China," said Jackson Wong, vice president at Tanrich Securities in Hong Kong.
Japanese exporters got a boost as the dollar continued to strengthen against the yen. The Nikkei 225 stock average gained 30.94 points, or 0.3 percent, to 9,861.46. Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.8 percent 24,700.30. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.6 percent to 4,728.60.
Smaller Asian markets headed the other way with indexes down in Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia.
Among commodity stocks, Australian mining giant BHP Billiton was 1 percent higher and Japan's Inpex gained 0.9 percent.
Chinese shares closed mixed with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rising 1 percent, to end at 3,147.74. The Shenzhen Composite Index for China's smaller, second exchange fell 0.6 percent to 1,381.49.
Oil refiners got a boost as shortages nationwide pushed up prices. Major refiner Sinopec gained 5.2 percent while oil and gas producer and refiner PetroChina surged 7.7 percent.
But other stocks reacted negatively after China announced Thursday that food costs had risen sharply, driving the country's inflation rate to a 25-month high in October.
"The high CPI for October made investors jittery about the government's further moves in monetary tightening to manage inflation," said Liu Kan, an analyst at Guoyuan Securities in Shanghai.
Asia's advance followed slight gains in the U.S., where some investors were concerned about the international backlash against the Federal Reserve's bond buying plan.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 10.29, or 0.1 percent, to close at 11,357.04. The Dow had been down as many as 92 points earlier in the day.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index added 5.31, or 0.4 percent, to 1,218.71, and the Nasdaq composite rose 15.80, or 0.6 percent, to 2,578.78.
In currencies, the dollar rose to 82.30 yen from 82.10 yen late Wednesday in New York. The greenback also strengthened against the euro, which dropped to $1.3768 versus $1.3782.
Benchmark oil for December delivery was up 59 cents at $88.40 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract added $1.09 to settle to $87.81 on Wednesday.
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Associated Press researcher Ji Chen in Shanghai contributed.