Stocks in Asia were mixed on Thursday as oil prices continued their overnight rebound that recouped some recent losses.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index gained 291.49 points, or 1.5%, to 19,429.44.
The Japanese yen traded at 107.78 per U.S. dollar after seeing levels below 107.6 earlier in the trading week.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index pointed higher 83.96 points, or 0.4%, to 23,977.32.
Meanwhile, in the oil markets, international benchmark Brent crude futures gained 4.4% to $21.28 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate for June delivery also jumped 6.68% to $14.70 per barrel.
In economic news, South Korea’s economy saw its largest contraction since 2008 in the first quarter.
Gross domestic product fell by 1.4% in the first quarter of 2020 as compared to the previous quarter, according to the Bank of Korea’s advance estimates released Thursday. That came as the country’s economy took a hit from the coronavirus pandemic.
South Korea was the one of the first countries outside of China to report a major outbreak of the virus, though the situation has since improved, with authorities recently relaxing some social distancing rules.
The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.6343 following a decline from levels around $0.635 yesterday.
In other markets
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 dipped 9.63 points, or 0.4%, to 3,829.75
In Korea, the Kospi index gained 18.58 points, or 1%, to 1,914.73.
In Taiwan, the Taiex Index advanced 58.77 points, or 0.6%, to 10,366.51
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index lost 7.67 points, or 0.3%, to 2,542.37.
In Australia, the ASX 200 faded 4.14 points, or 0.1%, to 5,217.11.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 regained 28.45 points, or 0.3%, to 10,446.11.
