CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stocks rose broadly on Thursday as easing political tensions in Hong Kong and Britain helped improve investors' appetite for risk.
Investors also cheered news that the U.S. and China have agreed to hold ministerial-level trade talks in Washington in early October.
Chinese stocks closed higher on hopes that Beijing will cut lenders' reserve requirements again to shore up the economy.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite index climbed 28.45 points, or 0.96 percent, to 2,985.86 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index slid marginally to finish at 26,515.53.
Japanese shares hit a one-month high as the U.S. and China agreed to resume trade talks and Hong Kong withdrew the contentious extradition bill that sparked recent protests. The Nikkei average climbed 436.80 points, or 2.12 percent, to 21,085.94, the highest close since Aug. 2.
The broader Topix index closed 1.83 percent higher at 1,534.46, with precision machinery and sea transport stocks pacing the gainers.
Medical-related service provider M3 Inc soared 10 percent while baseball stadium operator Tokyo Dome Corp slumped 8.4 percent as index provider Nikkei announced changes to the Nikkei 225 share average.
Tech stocks surged, with Advantest climbing 6.6 percent and Tokyo Electron gaining 4.2 percent. Nissan Motor advanced 2 percent as its President and CEO Hiroto Saikawa reportedly admitted to being overpaid by an equity-linked remuneration scheme designed by Chairman Carlos Ghosn.
Australian markets followed global peers higher amid easing worries over political risks in Britain, Italy and Hong Kong. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index inched up 60.20 points, or 0.92 percent, to 6,613.20 while the broader All Ordinaries index ended up 64.70 points, or 0.97 percent, at 6,720.80.
The big four banks rose between 0.7 percent and 1.1 percent while mining giant Rio Tinto advanced 1.8 percent and smaller rival Fortescue Metals Group jumped 3.4 percent. Coal miner Whitehaven Coal plunged 9.4 percent on going ex-dividend.
CYBG shares slumped 20.3 percent after the British lender said it expected to bear a 'material' cost following a spike in claims for mis-sold payment protection insurance.
Woodside Petroleum, Santos, Origin Energy and Oil Search rose 1-2 percent after oil prices soared over 4 percent overnight on the back of positive economic data from China.
Department store operator Myer Holdings jumped as much as 10.5 percent after it swung to an annual profit, versus a loss last year. Retail pharmacy group Sigma Healthcare dropped 1.6 percent on reporting an 81 percent fall in half-year profit.
Australia's trade surplus declined in July as exports logged only a marginal growth, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed today. The trade surplus declined to A$7.26 billion in July from June's record A$7.97 billion.
Seoul stocks advanced after reports that negotiating teams from China and the U.S. will meet in Washington in early October to look for a solution to their yearlong trade dispute.
The benchmark Kospi rose 16.22 points, or 0.82 percent, to close at 2,004.75, breaching the psychologically significant 2,000-point mark for the first time since Aug. 1.
Market bellwether Samsung Electronics climbed 3.63 percent while chipmaker SK Hynix jumped 3.8 percent.
New Zealand shares rose sharply, with the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index ending up 98.54 points, or 0.90 percent, at 11,106.67. Dairy firm a2 Milk Company led the surge to end with a 2.6 percent gain.
The total volume of building activity in New Zealand fell a seasonally adjusted 1.5 percent sequentially in the second quarter of 2019, Statistics New Zealand said in a report. That missed expectations for an increase of 1.3 percent.
Overnight, U.S. stocks rose solidly as investors parsed new commentary from Fed officials and reacted positively to developments in Italy, Britain and Hong Kong.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.9 percent while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.3 percent and the S&P 500 added 1.1 percent.
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