Asia shares rise after U.S. rebound amid sanctions on Ukraine

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 surged 1.9% in afternoon trading to 26,450.84.

Asian shares mostly rose on February 25 after U.S. stocks recovered toward the end of a wild trading day, as governments slapped sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 surged 1.9% in afternoon trading to 26,450.84. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 lost some of its earlier gains to close 0.1% higher at 6,997.80. South Korea's Kospi jumped 1.2% to 2,679.56. Hong Kong's Hang Seng edged down 0.4% to 22,821.87, while the Shanghai Composite rose 0.7% to 3,452.84.

Japan announced additional sanctions on Russia, including freezing the assets of Russian groups, banks and individuals and suspending exports of semi-conductors and other sensitive goods to military-linked organisations in Russia.

Earlier in the week, Tokyo suspended new issuances and distribution of Russian government bonds in Japan, to reduce financing opportunities for Russia. It also banned trade with the two Ukrainian separatist regions.

While most nations in Asia rallied to support Ukraine, China denounced sanctions against Russia and blamed the United States and its allies for provoking Moscow.

Despite uncertainty about the Ukraine and worries over inflation and the pandemic, the turnaround on Wall Street seemed to buoy Asian shares.