we've been reporting here on nhk "newsline," a proposed merger of oil wholesaler idemitsu kosan and showa shell -- shars were downn 7%. other r energy players rose, howewever, as benchmark crude futures staged a rebound overnight. inpex and japex added nearly 3% as oil continued to rise during asian trading. now investors are wawaiting for u.s. jobs numbers out on friday for clues about the federal reserve's interest rates plan. i'm giang nguyen reporting. >>> others in the asia pacific region ended positive on higher oil prices. but gains were limited before the bank of england policy decision. hong kong rose by 0.4%. singapore up by 0.15% as we see there. in china the shanghai composite gaining by 0.1% finishing at 2,982. property shares led the gains there on hopes of support from that sector on the government. australia up 0.18%. they were cheered by the sharp rebound in oil prices. >>> here's a look at some of the other business stories we're following. employees at japan's biggest firms have pocketed an average summer bonus of more than 900,000 yen or about $8,800 for the first time in ei

oil refinery showa shell rose about 2.5%. for the moment investors are holding back as they try to second guess the federal reserve as to whether we'll see a rate hike in september or later and of course providing important clues will be the payroll data out on friday. i'm phoebe amoroso reporting from the tokyo stock exchange. >> many other markets in the asian pacific region traded higher. but a sense of caution limited the gains. the shanghai composite finishing at 3,074. financials gained after authorities announced the stock trade link between shenzhen and hong kong will be earlier than planned. hang seng gaining by almost a percent. the index hit its highest level in nearly two weeks. here's a look at some of the other business stories we're following. >>> mits bee show motors is facing more fallout from its scandal. ththe automaker will suspend sas of new units of eight models. follows reports by the mininist that it was lower than the firm claimed. among the eight arehe rvr and pajero. officials say they will pay abou

and showa shell fell 3.5%. all three major financial groups finished lower. mitsubishi ufj was down almost 6%. sumitomo down 4%. and nissen holdings surged. discussing makes it a subsidiary. i'm phoebe amoroso reporting from the tokyo stock exchange. >>> moving on to other in asia pacific region. australian shares sliding by 0.8% closing at 5,540 snapping a six-day winning streak. the country's central bank decided to cut its key interest rate to a record low of 1.5%. major banks fell on concern that the lower rate may reduce profits. 2,971 the finishing number there. share property shares rebounded. singapore meanwhile down by 1.2% on lower oil prices and the jakarta compass sit gaining by 0.2%. >>> people investigating the mileage cheating scandal at mitsubishi motors say poor governance was a factor. they say as far back as five years ago, executives ignored claims of irregularities in the firm's development section. aa panel of lawyers and other experts spent three months investigatating the scandal. they released a report that said more than one employee