Investing.com – Asian stock markets advanced on Thursday, as market sentiment was boosted after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke indicated that the central bank had no timetable to hike interest rates.
During late Asian trade, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index edged 0.1% higher, South Korea's Kospi Composite added 0.07%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index jumped 1.63%.
On Wednesday, the Fed kept rates unchanged between a range of 0.0% to 0.25%, saying it would do so "for an extended period".
The central bank, citing the U.S. economy's "moderate" recovery, also kept the door open for a wider economic stimulus, while saying its current USD600 billion bond-buying program would be allowed to run its forecast course through June.
Meanwhile, the Nikkei rose to the highest level since the March 11 earthquake as companies, including Advantest, Komatsu and Mitsubishi Motors all reported better-than-expected earnings.
Advantest, the world’s biggest maker of memory-chip testers saw shares rally 5.5% after saying it returned to profit in the year through March, posting net income of JPY3.16 billion.
Komatsu, the world’s second-largest maker of construction equipment, saw shares jump 2.8% after it said fourth quarter net income increased more than threefold to JPY50.1 billion, as Asia’s booming economies boosted demand.
Shares in Mitsubishi Motors rose 1.5% after the company said annual profit more than tripled, fueled by growth in emerging nations and the popularity of new models.
Elsewhere, Agricultural Bank of China, the nation’s largest lender by customers, climbed 1.6% in Hong Kong after saying first-quarter net income increased 36% to CNY34.1 billion, beating expectations for income of CNY33.1 billion.
The outlook for European equity markets, meanwhile, was mixed. The EURO STOXX 50 futures pointed to a modest gain of 0.1%, France’s CAC 40 futures shed 0.08%, the FTSE 100 futures pointed to a drop of 0.2%, while Germany's DAX futures eased down 0.02%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish advance data on first quarter gross domestic product, as well as official data on initial jobless claims.
During late Asian trade, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index edged 0.1% higher, South Korea's Kospi Composite added 0.07%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index jumped 1.63%.
On Wednesday, the Fed kept rates unchanged between a range of 0.0% to 0.25%, saying it would do so "for an extended period".
The central bank, citing the U.S. economy's "moderate" recovery, also kept the door open for a wider economic stimulus, while saying its current USD600 billion bond-buying program would be allowed to run its forecast course through June.
Meanwhile, the Nikkei rose to the highest level since the March 11 earthquake as companies, including Advantest, Komatsu and Mitsubishi Motors all reported better-than-expected earnings.
Advantest, the world’s biggest maker of memory-chip testers saw shares rally 5.5% after saying it returned to profit in the year through March, posting net income of JPY3.16 billion.
Komatsu, the world’s second-largest maker of construction equipment, saw shares jump 2.8% after it said fourth quarter net income increased more than threefold to JPY50.1 billion, as Asia’s booming economies boosted demand.
Shares in Mitsubishi Motors rose 1.5% after the company said annual profit more than tripled, fueled by growth in emerging nations and the popularity of new models.
Elsewhere, Agricultural Bank of China, the nation’s largest lender by customers, climbed 1.6% in Hong Kong after saying first-quarter net income increased 36% to CNY34.1 billion, beating expectations for income of CNY33.1 billion.
The outlook for European equity markets, meanwhile, was mixed. The EURO STOXX 50 futures pointed to a modest gain of 0.1%, France’s CAC 40 futures shed 0.08%, the FTSE 100 futures pointed to a drop of 0.2%, while Germany's DAX futures eased down 0.02%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish advance data on first quarter gross domestic product, as well as official data on initial jobless claims.