Shares in major Asia-Pacific markets rose on Thursday after stocks on Wall Street sailed to record highs as U.S. President Joe Biden was sworn into office.
The Nikkei 225 recovered 233.6 points, or 0.8%, to 28,523.26.
The Bank of Japan on Thursday kept monetary policy steady. In a widely expected decision, the Japanese central bank kept its target for short-term interest rates at -0.1% and that for 10-year government bond yields at around 0%.
The Japanese yen traded at 103.39 per U.S. dollar, stronger than levels above 103.8 against the greenback seen earlier in the trading week.
The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong tailed off 34.71 points, or 0.1%, to 29,927.76.
Australia’s unemployment rate came in at 6.6% in December, according to seasonally adjusted estimates released by the country’s Bureau of Statistics on Thursday. That compared against expectations for a 6.7% reading, and followed November’s unemployment rate 6.8%.
The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7769, having risen from levels below $0.77 seen earlier this week.
In other markets
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 jumped 88.54 points, or 1.6%, to 5,564.97
In Korea, the Kospi index 46.29 points, or 1.5%, to 3,160.84
In Singapore, the Straits Times acquired 18.38 points, or 0.6%, to 3,017.15
In Taiwan, the Taiex Index raced ahead 347.59 points, or 2.2%, to 16,153.77
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 leaped 85.74 points, or 0.7%, to 13,112.19.
In Australia, the ASX 200 took 53.31 points, or 0.8%, to 6,823.71
