Investing.com - Asian stocks moved higher in Thursday trade, on renewed hopes for action on European debt and an overnight gain by shares on Wall Street.
During early Asian trade, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.8 to 19,045.40, Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index rose 1.9% to 8,683.13, and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 1.4% to 4,060.50.
Along with the Nikkei, the broader-based Topix Index of all issues listed on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange climbed 1.7% to 754.60.
Earlier Wednesday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou spoke to concerns that Greece was in danger of default and would meet its obligations to institute austerity measure to meet its 2011-2012 fiscal targets.
European shares ended Wednesday’s session higher, with France’s CAC 40 adding 1.87%, Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 1.02%, and Germany’s DAX jumped 3.36%.
Wall Street also posted gains, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.3%, the Nasdaq Composite Index was lifted 1.6%, and the S&P 500 climbed 1.35%.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that retail sales in August rose 0.1%, below market expectations of a 0.2% gain.
The figure, an indication of consumer spending for the period, was revised down to a 0.3% gain in May.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics released producer price inflation numbers for August, showing that the PPI was flat for the month, following a 0.2% gain in July.
Despite gains from the yen versus the U.S. dollar, exporters in Tokyo led early gainers with Advantest Corp. surging 4.3%, NEC Corp. gaining 2.6% and Sony Corp. adding 1.4%.
Chip manufacturer Elpida Memory Inc. soared by 7.4% after a Nikkei news report that the company would be shifting nearly 40% of its manufacturing capacity to Taiwan.
Banking issues were aided by news on the European front, with Australia’s Macquarie Group Ltd. higher by 2.2%, HSBC Holdings PLC added 0.5% and Mizuho Financial Group climbed 1.4%.
The outlook for European stocks was mixed. France’s CAC 40 futures was lower by 0.06% to 2,977.20, Britain’s FTSE 100 futures edged down 0.02% to 5,272.50, while Germany’s DAX futures was up 0.13% to 5,438.10.