By Chao Deng

Stocks in Asia rose Wednesday, as fears eased over Greece leaving the eurozone, while Hong Kong energy stocks rallied on hopes of a possible mega-merger in China's oil sector.

The Nikkei Stock Average was up 1.2%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 1.0% and the Hang Seng ended up 0.2%, ahead of the Lunar New Year on Thursday.

Hong Kong extended four consecutive days of gains in a shortened trading day, while the Shanghai market was closed for a week-long holiday.

PetroChina Co. and Sinopec (SHI) were most heavily traded, leading the energy sector up 2.7% amid thin turnover. China's leadership is exploring ways to consolidate the country's oil industry, including possibly merging China National Petroleum Corp. and its main domestic rival China Petrochemical Corp., The Wall Street Journal reported.

With Asia light on data, investors turned to cues from abroad. The S&P 500 (SPX) eked out a record finish, after reports that Greece would seek an extension of its rescue deal from its eurozone creditors.

"Overseas markets are stable, even as uncertainty remains over Greece and Ukraine," said Mitsushige Akino, chief fund manager at Ichiyoshi Investment Management.

The U.S. dollar (USDJPY) was lower against the yen in Asian trade Wednesday, with investors sitting on the sidelines ahead of Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda's post-policy board meeting news conference. Though the central bank stood pat on its policy earlier Wednesday, most market watchers expect it to consider new stimulus later in the year, as lower oil prices push inflation further below its 2% target.

In Singapore, commodities trader Noble Group was up 1.9%, after publishing a further rejection of allegations of accounting irregularities. The firm said Iceberg Research didn't contact it for clarification before publishing a research report that doubted how much Noble's stakes in associate firms were worth. Noble's shares lost 5.4% Tuesday and 7.9% Monday.

In Australia, Toll Holdings Ltd. jumped 47.2%, after the company received a takeover offer from Japan Post Holdings, which values Toll at 9.04 Australian dollars ($7.07) a share -- a 49% premium on Tuesday's A$6.08 closing price.

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