Asia report: Markets rally as rate cut bets start to firm

Asian shares were largely positive on Thursday on as investors awaited a widely forecast cut in interest rates from the European Central Bank, while hopes were also rising for a similar move by the US Federal Reserve.

Japan's Nikkei gained 0.74% to 38,745 points, driven by gains in chip-making equipment manufacturer Tokyo Electron, which jumped 3.46%. Advantest which makes chip-testing equipment, was up 3.91%, on the back of gains for Nvidia in the US as it became the world's second largest company by market value.

Australia's ASX 200 was up 0.68% to 7,821.80. South Korea's Kospi rose 1.29% to 2,532.01

Indian stocks were also in positive territory, with the BSE index up 0.47% to 74,733.96 as investors digested a surprise election results that reduced the ruling BJP's majority and spooked markets about the path of economic policies.

China mainland and Hong Kong equities bucked the trend, with the Shanghai Composite Index down 0.54% to 3,048.79 and the Hang Seng 0.15% lower to 18,425 points.

The ECB meeting start the latest round of central bank policy meetings, with the Fed and the Bank of Japan due to meet next week. Canada's central bank became the first in the G7 to cut rates on Wednesday.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com