Asian shares mostly higher on oil price's rebound

Asian markets traded mostly higher on Friday as rising oil prices helped boost investor's confidence.

The price of US oil and Brent crude rose more than 4% to $50.48 and $57.57 a barrel respectively in New York.

Investors are also keeping an eye on US jobs data, due later in the day, which is expected to show firm growth in January.

In Japan, the benchmark Nikkei 225, external closed up 0.8% to 17,648.50.

Investor sentiment was also boosted by assurances that Greek banks would get funding despite the European Central Bank saying that it would no longer allow the banks to use government debt as collateral for loans.

The promised access to emergency funding helped ease fears of an immediate banking crisis.

The dollar was at 117.32 yen in US trade.

Australian shares closed higher for the 12th consecutive session, having hit a seven year high of 5,850.9 earlier.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.1% to 5,820.2.

The index has gained nearly 10% in the past 12 sessions to match its longest winning streak since 2008.

Shares in Virgin Australia jumped 2.3% after the airline reported that its fiscal second quarter underlying profit was up by more than $47m (£30m) from the same period a year ago.

Chinese shares headed lower as investors held back in preparation for a flurry of initial public offerings.

The Shanghai Composite was down 1.8% at 3,078.68, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index was lower 0.2% at 24,710.03.

Meanwhile, South Korea's Kospi index ended higher 0.1% to close at 1,955.52.