Stocks across Asia rallied Thursday with Tokyo leading the gains, bringing to a halt two days of losses.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index climbed 277.95 points, or 1.5%, to 19,312.79
Investors refocused on hopes Japan’s central bank and the country’s pension funds will keep increasing their allocation to equities to boost their returns.
Share prices were higher from the start, and flew in the face of disappointing U.S. private-employment and factory-activity data, which together provided fresh signs that economic growth had slowed in the first quarter.
The Hang Seng Index gained 192.89 points, or 0.8%, to 25,275.64, ahead of a three-day Easter holiday. Shares of telecommunications firm PCCW Ltd. jumped 4.6% after its subsidiary Hong Kong Television Entertainment Co. received a 12-year free-to-air license from the local government.
The Australian dollar hit a fresh two-month low against the Japanese yen, to ¥90.53, amid fears the Reserve Bank of Australia will cut interest rates at its policy-setting meeting on April 7. That compares with ¥91.01 earlier in the session.
CHINA
Chinese stocks ended higher, thanks to late bargain hunting that salvaged an earlier falling market.
The Shanghai CSI 300 inched up 0.88 points to 4,124.78
The gains were concentrated in sectors perceived as still enjoying cheap valuations, including base metals and heavy machinery.
Margin trading — the use of borrowed money for trading — surpassed one trillion yuan ($161.4 billion U.S.) for the first time Wednesday, according to the latest data from the Shanghai Stock Exchange.
In other markets
The Taiex index in Taiwan regained 92.66 points, or 1%, to 9,600.32
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index added 6.73 points, or 0.2%, to 3,453.75
The Kospi index in Korea eked up 0.62 points to 2,029.07
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 faded 4.19 points, or 0.1%, to 5,831.40
The S&P/ASX index gained 37.83 points, or 0.7%, to 5,898.58
