Oil prices were up in Asian trade on Friday, after US stocks rebounded from a heavy sell-off as investors looked ahead for an economic recovery.

New York's main futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in June, gained 11 cents to $58.73 a barrel.

Brent North Sea crude for July delivery rose 12 cents to $58.71.

Analysts said crude oil prices were tracking gains in global stock markets following the bounce on Wall Street on Thursday.

In morning trade, Japanese share prices rose 1.66 percent, with the benchmark Nikkei-225 index climbing 151.24 points to 9,244.97 by the lunch break, recovering some of the previous day's 2.64 percent loss.

Hong Kong share prices also opened 1.68 percent higher, with the benchmark Hang Seng Index rising 277.12 points to 16,818.81 in the first few minutes of trading.