Japanese stocks resumed their winning ways on Thursday, rising to a fresh 15-year high after breaking a five-session winning streak in the previous session.
The Nikkei 225 index ballooned 200.59 points, or 1.1%, to 18,785.79, its best level since April 2000.
Meanwhile, the yen was a little stronger versus the U.S. dollar, trading at ¥118.75, from ¥118.83 at the previous market close.
The Hang Seng Index popped 123.78 points, or 0.5%, to 24,902.06.
Oil explorers got a boost from a strong rebound in global crude prices in the previous session. Inpex Corporation rallied 3.3%, and Japan Petroleum Exploration Co. Ltd. gained 2.8%.
Among top outperformers, auto maker Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. and banking group Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. both jumped 3.2%. Electronics manufacturer TDK Corporation climbed 2.1%, media conglomerate Sony Corp. rose 2%, and Internet and telecoms giant SoftBank Corp improved by 1.7%.
In other markets;
The Shanghai CSI 300 hiked 87.57 points, or 2.5%, to 3,426.18
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index scaled back 14.65 points, or 0.4%, to 3,426.18
The Taiex index in Taiwan erased Wednesday’s gains, losing 77.44 points, or 0.8%, to 9,622.10
The Kospi index in Korea moved up 2.61 points, or 0.1%, to 1,993.08
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 gained 19.39 points, or 0.3%, to 5,861.68
The S&P/ASX index gave back 36.41 points, or 0.6%, to 5,908.49
