Asia-Pacific markets traded broadly higher Thursday, following a relatively strong finish on Wall Street overnight after U.S. lawmakers passed a $1.9-trillion coronavirus relief package.
The Nikkei 225 leaped 175.08 points, or 0.6%, to 29,211.64. The Japanese yen changed hands at 108.69 per U.S. dollar.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng jumped 478.09 points, or 1.7%, to 29,385.61.
Korean markets rose, buoyed by tech firms. Shares of Samsung rose 1.4%, SK Hynix advanced 3% and LG Electronics rose 3.5%.
Australian shares retraced earlier losses. The heavily-weighted financials sub-index slipped 0.4% while the materials sector erased earlier losses and the energy sub-index rose 0.4%. Shares of major miners Rio Tinto gathered 1.1%, and Fortescue closed up 2.2%, BHP fell 1.7% while banking stocks also declined.
The Australian dollar rose 0.5% to $0.7773.
CHINA
Chinese mainland shares also rose Thursday after struggling in recent sessions as authorities in Beijing set a relatively low Gross Domestic Product target and signaled a shift away from measures designed to keep the economy afloat.
In China, the CSI 300 popped 124.6 points, or 2.5%, to 5,128.21.
In other markets
In Taiwan, the Taiex sprinted 55.58 points, or 1.7%, to 16,179.56.
In Korea, the Kospi index advanced 55.58 points, or 1.9%, to 3,013.70.
In Singapore, the Straits Times index restocked 26.29 points, or 0.9%, to 3,106.01
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 added 20.58 points, or 0.2%, to 12,272.48.
In Australia, the ASX 200 docked 0.18 points to 6,713.92.
