Sydney — Asian shares advanced to a decade high on Monday, while US oil futures jumped to hover near a six-month top as escalating tension between the Iraqi government and Kurdish forces threatened supply. Iraqi forces began moving at midnight on Sunday towards oil fields held by Kurdish Peshmerga fighters near the oil-rich city of Kirkuk. In response, US crude climbed 0.9% to $51.92 a barrel, not far from $52.85 touched late last month — a level not seen since April. Brent crude climbed 1.2% to $57.88 a barrel. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gained for a fifth day running to its highest level since late 2007. Japan’s Nikkei rallied for a sixth day to a level not seen since November 1996. Australian shares extended their winning streak to a fourth straight session, rising 0.6%, while the Shanghai composite index edged 0.1% higher. Chinese news could be a key driver of markets this week ahead of the start of a leadership summit and key economic data, inclu...
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