Asian markets tacked on gains on Thursday despite mostly poor economic data, although Chinese markets fell behind their region peers.
The Nikkei 225 regained 360.44 points, or 2.3%, to 16,916.80
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index ballooned 438.51 points, or 2.3%, to 19,363.08
Japan's Ministry of Finance released data that showed the country's January exports fell 12.9% at an annual rate on-year, worse than analysts' expectation of a 11.3% drop while imports were down 18% on-year. Exports to China, one of Japan's biggest trading partners, slipped 17.5% in January.
Despite the disappointing trade numbers, most Japanese stocks, including the trading houses that supply everything from energy to metals to grains and textiles in resource-scarce Japan, finished up. The big five trading houses, Mitsubishi, Mitsui, Sumitomo, Itochu, and Marubeni, gained upwards of 8.6%
The yen strengthened against the dollar, with the U.S. dollar-yen pair trading down 0.2% at 113.84, compared to yesterday's close of 114.04.
While a stronger yen is usually a negative for exporters as it reduces their overseas profits when converted into local currency, major exporters such as Toyota, Honda, and Sony followed the rally on the benchmark index to close up as much as 3.6%
Banks were also a focus in the region with Japanese banks gaining up to 2.9%, with Mitsubishi UFJ leading the pack. The Japanese overnight call rate, which is the benchmark lending rate between banks, fell to negative levels on Wednesday. Earlier this week, Japan's negative interest rate policy kicked in as concerns over the long-term profitability of the banks lingered.
Energy plays across the region were mostly up; Santos gained 7.6% , Inpex added 6.1%, and Woodside Petroleum was up 4.6%
CHINA
The Shanghai CSI 300 index faded 9.62 points, or 0.3%, to 3,053.70
This followed the release of China's inflation data for January. Consumer inflation quickened to 1.8% year-on-year, falling short of market expectations despite a boost from the Chinese New Year. A poll predicted the consumer price index would be at 1.9%, compared to 1.6% posted in December.
The producer price index fell 5.3% in January, following a 5.9% drop in December.
The Financial Times reported that fraudulent loans are on the rise in China as economic growth slowed, threatening to undermine the mainland banking system. The FT reported the latest victim was the Bank of Liuzhou, where 32.8 billion yuan ($4.9 billion U.S.) in fraudulent loans were discovered late last year. The number represented more than 40% of the bank's total assets of 80 billion yuan at the end of 2014.
Chinese oil plays on the mainland were mostly down; Petrochina shed 1.1% Yesterday afternoon local time, ratings agency Moody's said it was putting a number of Chinese national oil companies up for a review for downgrade, in line with reviews it had undertaken in other regions.
In other markets;
In Korea, the Kospi index gained 24.9 points, or 1.3%, to 1,908.84
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index moved higher 43.78 points, or 1.7%, to 2,657.57
In Taiwan, the Taiex index rocketed 100.42 points, or 1.2%, to 8,314.67
The NZX 50 in New Zealand moved up 25.52 points, or 0.4%, to 6,111.09.
In Australia, the ASX 200 advanced 109.9 points, or 2.3%, to 4,992.
