Asia-Pacific markets gained on Thursday, following a surge in U.S. stock markets driven by an unexpected decline in core inflation in December and strong earnings from major banks.
By 11:55 am AEDT (12:55 am GMT) the S&P/ASX 200 gained 1.6%, with the country's December unemployment figures increasing slightly to 4% from 3.9% in November.
South Korea's Kospi 200 rose 1.2%, with market participants expecting a 25 basis-point interest rate cut ahead of the Bank of Korea’s rate decision later in the day.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 opened up 0.7%, as the country's annual producer price index (PPI) increased by 3.8% in December, meeting expectations.
U.S. stocks experienced significant gains overnight, with the Dow Jones adding 1.7%, the S&P 500 rising 1.8%, and the Nasdaq Composite advancing 2.5%.
The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield sharply fell to 4.65%, dropping around 13 basis points, after the release of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) report.
In China, the Shanghai Composite fell 0.4% to 3,227.1, while the CSI 300 dipped 0.6% to 3,796.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index added 0.3% to 19,286.1, and India's BSE Sensex gained 0.3% to 76,724.1.
In Europe, the FTSE 100, DAX and CAC 40 closed higher, adding 1.2%, 1.5%, and 0.7%, respectively.
