Investing.com – Asian stocks posted sharp gains on Thursday, as shares in the commodity and financial sectors led markets higher, while Japanese exporters gained as the yen weakened against the U.S. dollar.
During late Asian trade, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rallied 1.67%, South Korea's Kospi Composite added 1.66%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index jumped 2.06%.
Shares in the commodity sector performed strongly, as crude oil and metal prices rebounded. Japan’s biggest oil exporter Inpex saw shares jump 1.89%, shares in the country’s biggest copper producer JX Holdings rallied 4.74%, while shares in Japan’s largest commodity broker Mitsui & Company climbed 1.93%.
Meanwhile, in the financial sector, shares in Japan’s fourth-largest lender Resona Holdings soared 9.17%, while the country’s biggest bank Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group saw shares jump 4.30%.
Elsewhere, many of the big name Japanese exporters advanced, with shares in the world’s biggest automaker Toyota climbing 1.42%, rivals Honda Motor saw shares rise 2.11%, while shares digital camera maker Canon gained 1.26%.
In Hong Kong, markets were higher after shares in Cnooc Limited, China’s largest offshore oil producer, soared 5.95% while shares in China’s largest copper producer Jiangxi Copper Company rallied 5.02%.
Elsewhere, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.34%, as shares in the nation’s second-largest department store David Jones Limited soared 4.01% after it said first quarter profit rose by 3.2% to AUD 466.6 million, as sales in the quarter rose by 1.2%.
The outlook for European equity markets, meanwhile, was upbeat. The EURO STOXX 50 futures pointed to a gain of 1.11%, France’s CAC 40 futures indicated an increase of 0.86%, the FTSE 100 futures pointed to a rise of 0.62% and Germany's DAX futures were up 0.96%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release key weekly data on initial jobless claims, while the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia was due to release a report on the city’s manufacturing sector.
During late Asian trade, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rallied 1.67%, South Korea's Kospi Composite added 1.66%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index jumped 2.06%.
Shares in the commodity sector performed strongly, as crude oil and metal prices rebounded. Japan’s biggest oil exporter Inpex saw shares jump 1.89%, shares in the country’s biggest copper producer JX Holdings rallied 4.74%, while shares in Japan’s largest commodity broker Mitsui & Company climbed 1.93%.
Meanwhile, in the financial sector, shares in Japan’s fourth-largest lender Resona Holdings soared 9.17%, while the country’s biggest bank Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group saw shares jump 4.30%.
Elsewhere, many of the big name Japanese exporters advanced, with shares in the world’s biggest automaker Toyota climbing 1.42%, rivals Honda Motor saw shares rise 2.11%, while shares digital camera maker Canon gained 1.26%.
In Hong Kong, markets were higher after shares in Cnooc Limited, China’s largest offshore oil producer, soared 5.95% while shares in China’s largest copper producer Jiangxi Copper Company rallied 5.02%.
Elsewhere, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.34%, as shares in the nation’s second-largest department store David Jones Limited soared 4.01% after it said first quarter profit rose by 3.2% to AUD 466.6 million, as sales in the quarter rose by 1.2%.
The outlook for European equity markets, meanwhile, was upbeat. The EURO STOXX 50 futures pointed to a gain of 1.11%, France’s CAC 40 futures indicated an increase of 0.86%, the FTSE 100 futures pointed to a rise of 0.62% and Germany's DAX futures were up 0.96%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release key weekly data on initial jobless claims, while the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia was due to release a report on the city’s manufacturing sector.