Investing.com - Japan's Nikkei index rose in morning trade in thin regional dealings with many markets shut for the May 1 holiday.
Markets in Japan, Australia and New Zealand are open Thursday and China, while closed, still released the CFLP manufacturing PMI for April showing a slight uptick to 50.4, just below an expectation of 50.5, and higher than the 50.3 reported last month.
In Australia AI Group said its manufacturing index for April contracted 3.1 points to 44.8, the sharpest drop since July 2013, indicating the sensitivity of the sector to the Australian dollar.
The exchange rate is still trading close to the highs of 2014, despite markets cutting their bets on a Reserve Bank cash rate hike this year after lower-than-expected first quarter inflation.
The Nikkei 225 rose 0.71% with earnings driving the market. Fujitsu rose 7.8% after swinging back to the black for the just-ended financial year and JAL fell 2.5% after a drop in earnings.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained slightly in thin trade.
Overnight, the Dow 30 rose 0.28%, the S&P 500 index rose 0.30%, while the NASDAQ Composite Composite index rose 0.27% after the U.S. Fed said it was leaving interest rates unchanged at 0.00%-0.25% though it did cut its monthly bond-buying program to $45 billion from $55 billion.
Elsewhere, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported earlier that U.S. gross domestic product grew at an annual rate of 0.1% in the first quarter, far shy of expectations for a 1.2% growth rate, though rough winter weather played a factor. The U.S. economy expanded by 2.6% in the previous quarter.
Separately, payroll processing firm ADP said non-farm private employment rose by 220,000 this month, above expectations for an increase of 210,000. March’s figure was revised up to a gain of 209,000 from a previously reported increase of 191,000.
Data also showed that the Chicago purchasing managers’ index rose to 63.0 this month from a reading of 55.9 in March. Analysts had expected the index to improve to 56.7 in April.
After the close of European trade, the DJ Euro Stoxx 50 fell 0.37%, France's CAC 40 fell 0.23%, while Germany's DAX rose 0.20%. Meanwhile, in the U.K. the FTSE 100 rose 0.15%.
On Thursday, the U.S. is to publish the weekly report on initial jobless claims. At the same time, Fed Chair Janet Yellen is to speak at an event in Washington; her comments will be closely watched.
Later Thursday, the Institute of Supply Management is to release a report on manufacturing activity.