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Asia stocks were largely higher on Wednesday with resource shares among the top performers thanks to sky high oil prices. Japan's Nikkei rose 0.2 percent (13,579) adding to a recent rally. U.S. crude prices jumped to a record high near $120 earlier this week as a weak U.S. currency encouraged buying of commodities. China oil firms were also big winners. State-owned giants such as PetroChina were further boosted by news of government help to prevent losses in its refining division. On the downside Japan's largest brokerage Nomura Holdings fell after it said it had fired an employee in a insider trading probe. Exporters such as carmaker Toyota also lost ground as Asian currencies strengthened against a weakening dollar. Asian goods shipped to the U.S. can appear more expensive when the dollar is weak and local currencies are strong. Fresh data out on Wednesday showed Japanese exports to the United States had their biggest tumble in more than 4 years. Tara Joseph-Hui reporting for Reuters. COMPANIES MENTIONED: SYMBOLS: