Asian markets end mostly higher on Thursday

Asian markets ended mostly higher on Thursday, after US stocks posted their biggest three-day gain since August overnight, buoyed by a jump in oil prices, upbeat US industrial production data and signs the Federal Reserve could slow the pace of US interest rate hikes. Minutes from the Federal Reserve's January meeting suggested that participants were concerned about the downside risks posed by the recent tightening of global financial conditions and discussed altering their earlier views of the appropriate path for interest rates, if needed. Japanese shares ended higher, shrugging off bigger-than-expected declines in exports and imports in January. Hong Kong stocks climbed more than 2 percent on Thursday, aided by a surge in energy shares. However, Chinese shares surrendered early gains to end slightly lower as inflation data painted a mixed picture of the economy. While consumer inflation edged up to 1.8 percent last month, fueled by rising food prices ahead of the Lunar New Year, the producer price deflation hit a record long streak in January, declining for the 47th straight month.