Asian Shares Inch Higher In Thin Holiday Trade

(RTTNews) - Asian stocks rose in thin holiday trade on Thursday, with China, Taiwan and Hong Kong markets closed for a public holiday.

Underlying sentiment remained supported somewhat after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reaffirmed his view that U.S. rates will be cut this year, but not anytime soon.

Japanese shares advanced as the yen weakened broadly, following a meeting of the country's leading monetary authorities.

The Nikkei average jumped 0.81 percent to 39,773.14 due to increased purchases of Japanese stocks stemming from the Nippon Individual Savings Account (NISA) program revamp. The broader Topix index settled 0.94 percent higher at 2,732.

A rebound in U.S. stocks lifted local peers, with heavyweight SoftBank Group rising over 1 percent. Trading house Itochu rose 0.7 percent after a 6 percent gain the previous day.

Kao Corp surged 5.1 percent after Hong Kong-based activist investment fund Oasis Management called on the cosmetics firm to revisit its portfolio and improve marketing.

Seoul stocks rallied, with the Kospi average finishing 1.29 percent higher at 2,742 led by technology stocks.

Nvidia supplier SK Hynix jumped 4.9 percent after it announced plans to invest around $3.87 billion to build an advanced packaging plant and research and development facility for AI products in the U.S. state of Indiana.

Australian markets eked out modest gains as gold scaled a record high and copper prices hit a 52-week high. Investors also cheered data showing that Australia's services sector expanded faster toward the end of the first quarter.

The benchmark S&P ASX 200 rose 0.45 percent to 7,817.30 while the broader All Ordinaries index gained 0.48 percent to close at 8,072.50.

Shares of Calidus Resources jumped nearly 21 percent as the gold producer reported its best quarter of production from the Warrawoona mine in Western Australia's Pilbara region.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P NZX-50 index finished marginally lower at 12,035.26.

U.S. stocks fluctuated before ending mixed overnight as Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic and Fed Chair Jerome Powell both emphasized the need for more debate and data before cutting rates.

In economic releases, private sector job growth expanded in March at its fastest pace since July 2023 while the services industry growth slowed further in the month, separate reports showed.

The Dow slipped 0.1 percent to extend losses for a third day running, while the S&P 500 inched up 0.1 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite added 0.2 percent.