HONG KONG : Asian shares rose on Thursday as investors cheered signs of easing inflationary pressure in the U.S. after data showed consumer prices in April rose at a slower-than-expected pace.
Markets are also watching out for China's consumer and producer price growth data and Japan's full-year earnings season which rolls on with Honda, Nissan and SoftBank Group among the companies reporting. Early in the Asian day, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.4 per cent.China's blue-chip CSI300 index edged up 0.15 per cent in early trade, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index opened 0.41 per cent higher.
The Nasdaq Composite added 1.04 per cent while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.09 per cent and the S&P 500 gained 0.45 per cent.