China stocks rise

China stocks settled higher on Thursday, led by energy shares as crude oil futures jumped on hopes for a deal to end the price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia, and by tech firms.
At the close, the Shanghai Composite index was up 1.69% at 2,780.64.
The blue-chip CSI300 index was up 1.62%, with its financial sector sub-index higher by 0.96%, the consumer staples sector up 1.75%, the real estate index higher 0.84% and the healthcare sub-index up 1.48%.
The smaller Shenzhen index ended up 2.26% and the start-up board ChiNext Composite index was higher by 2.797%.
The CSI300 energy index closed up 3.3%, as crude oil futures surged after US President Donald Trump said he expected Saudi Arabia and Russia to reach a deal soon to end their price war and Russian President Vladimir Putin called for a solution to "challenging" oil markets.
Tech stocks also outperformed, with the CSI IT index surging 4.8%, as investors expected Beijing to further seek tech self-sufficiency.
The Trump administration is tightening rules to prevent China from obtaining advanced US technology for commercial purposes and then diverting it to military use, several sources told Reuters.