Investing.com - Asian shares gained on Thursday with investors looking ahead to U.S. data on consumer prices with growing confidence of continued easy monetary policies.
The S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.33%, while the Nikkei 225 gained 0.78% and the Shanghai Composite rose 0.57%.
In Australia, job slots fell by 5,100 in September, compared to expectations for a gain of 5,000. But the unemployment rate ticked down to 6.2%, compared to an expected 6.3%, as the participation rate dropped to 64.9% from 65%.
Earlier, the latest MI inflation expectations rose to 3.5% from 3.2%.
Overnight, U.S. stocks were lower after the close on Wednesday, as losses in the Consumer Services, Financials and Industrials sectors led shares lower.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.92%, while the S&P 500 index fell 0.47%, and the NASDAQ Composite index declined 0.29%.
Investors await the release of the Consumer Price Index in the U.S. on Thursday for further indications on whether Federal Reserve could raise short-term interest rates before the end of the year. Analysts expect the headline CPI to fall by 0.2% for the month, but anticipate that the core reading will inch up 0.1% from its level in August.