Asian markets settled higher on Thursday after Wall Street's record gains overnight with optimism that US inflation is heading back in the right direction and that there will be two interest rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve this year. Data showed that retail sales in the US remained steady in April, while consumer prices rose less than expected and the core CPI slowed. Japanese shares rose as weak GDP data for the January-March quarter fuelled fresh doubts over the timing of BOJ rate hikes. Moreover, Chinese shares gained marginally after reports of government plans to buy unsold homes to save property market.
| Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
| Shanghai Composite | 3,122.40 | 2.50 | 0.08 |
| Hang Seng | 19,376.53 | 302.82 | 1.56 |
| Jakarta Composite | 7,246.70 | 66.87 | 0.92 |
| KLSE Composite | 1,611.11 | 7.88 | 0.49 |
| Nikkei 225 | 38,920.26 | 534.53 | 1.37 |
| Straits Times | 3,304.99 | 15.57 | 0.47 |
| KOSPI Composite | 2,753.00 | 22.66 | 0.82 |
| Taiwan Weighted | 21,304.26 | 157.05 | 0.74 |
