Asian markets ended the trading session Thursday in positive territory with sharp gains, taking cues from Wall Street where the major indices rallied sharply higher on bargain hunting at lower levels. The weakening of the yen against the dollar, and stable unemployment rate in Australia for June also augured well for market sentiment and lifted the major indices at open, primarily due to short covering. However, caution ahead of the earnings season in the US and lack of clarity on global economic recovery kept most traders on the sidelines.
In Japan, the benchmark Nikkei 225 Index advanced 256.09 points, or 2.76%, to 9,536 while the broader Topix index of all First Section issues gained 19.51 points, or 2.32%, to 861.
On the economic front, a report released by the Cabinet Office in Japan revealed that core machinery orders plunged a seasonally adjusted 9.1% in May compared to the previous month, falling for the first time in three month. Economists expected the core machinery orders to slip 3% following 4.1% rise in April.
A report released by the Ministry of Finance revealed that the country posted a current account surplus of 1.205 trillion in May, lower than economists' expectation for a surplus of 1.317 trillion yen for the month, following a surplus of 1.242 trillion reported for April. The adjusted current account saw a surplus of 904.8 billion yen - again missing forecasts for a surplus of 1.199 trillion yen after showing a 1.379 trillion yen surplus in the previous month.
As many as 220 of the 225 stocks in Nikkei-225 Index ended in positive territory with sharp gains on short covering and optimistic outlook ahead of the earnings season in the US starting next week.
Exporters and machinery makers led the gainers after the local currency, Yen, weakened against the US dollar. Canon Inc. advanced 3.30%, Sharp Corp. also advanced 3.30%, Sony Corp. climbed 4.39%, Panasonic Corp. surged up 4.71%. Among electric machinery stocks, Fanuc Ltd surged up 4.08%, Kyocera Corp. climbed 4.36%, Tokyo Electron soared 5.15%, and Advantest Corp. was up 6.03%.
All Nippon Airways was up by 4.63%.
Banks also ended higher. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial gained 2.96%, Resona Holdings climbed 2.83% and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial surged up 3.38%. Mizuho Financial managed to remain unchanged at previous close.
In Australia, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 Index surged up 102.1 points, or 2.40% and closed at 4,357, while the All-Ordinaries Index ended at 4,374, representing a sharp gain of 96.20 points, or 2.25%.
On the economic front, a report released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed that unemployment rate in the country remained steady in June and also managed to beat expectations following increase in the number of jobs during the month surpassing expectations. As per the report, the unemployment rate stood at a seasonally adjusted 5.1% in June, while May's unemployment was downwardly revised to 5.1% from 5.2%. A year ago, the unemployment rate stood at 5.8%. The report revealed that 598,400 Australians were unemployed by the end of June, a decrease of just 200 from May. The number of people looking for full-time work decreased by 11,000 to 424,700, while those looking for part-time work increased by 10,700 to 173,700.
Financial stocks fueled the rally following stable jobs report. ANZ Bank climbed 4.29%, Commonwealth Bank gained 2.69%, National Australia Bank rose 2.90% and Westpac Banking was up 3.69%. Investment banker Macquarie Group soared 6.25%.
Resource stocks ended in positive territory. BHP Billiton advanced 1.95%, Rio Tinto added 1.84%, Fortescue Metals surged up 4.07%, Gindalbie Metals climbed 2.62%, Iluka Resources rose 2.26%, Macarthur Coal was up by 3.62%, and Oz Minerals increased 3.38%.
Oil stocks also advanced on higher crude oil prices in the international market. Woodside Petroleum gained 1.91%, Santos advanced 2.49%, ROC Oil Co, climbed 4.62%, Oil Search added 1.80% and Origin Energy increased 2.65%.
Gold related stocks also ended in positive territory. Lihir Gold gained 2.18% and Newcrest Mining was up 2.09%.
In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng Index ended in positive territory with a gain of 193.49 points, or 0.97%, at 20051, taking cues from Wall Street where the major averages witnessed a sharp rally on bargain hunting at lower levels. Positive trading across other markets in the region also lifted market sentiment. However, profit taking at late trading session in cautious trading ahead of the start of US earnings season next week, capped the market gains.
Sustained buying activity on the back of a combination of global factors such as a bullish earnings forecast from U.S. bank State Street Corp, positive data on U.S retail sales, speculation that European banks will pass stress tests and an upward revision to the International Monetary Fund's global growth forecast for 2010 helped the Indian market bounce back sharply on Thursday after a retreat in the previous session. The 30-share Sensex rose to a high of 17,728 before paring its gains and ending up 181 points or 1.03% at 17,652, while the 50-share Nifty rose by 56 points or 1.06% to 5,297.
Among the other major markets open for trading, Singapore's Strait Times Index gained 36.12 points, or 1.26% to close at 2,897, Taiwan's Weighted Index advanced 74.39 points, or 0.99%, to close at 7,609, and Indonesia's Jakarta Composite Index added 13.86 points, or 0.48%, and closed at 2,916. However, China's Shanghai Composite Index ended in negative territory with a loss of 5.97 points, or 0.25%, at 2,415.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.