Asia report: Markets strengthen on back of Wall Street gains

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 was up 1.29% at 22,841.12, as the yen weakened 0.02% against the dollar to last trade at JPY 112.27.

SoftBank shares rose again, adding 2.13% after chief operating officer Marcelo Claure said the firm was “anxiously looking” at news surrounding the disappearance of Saudi Arabian journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

The company remains close with the Saudi Arabian kingdom, with much of its funding flowing from there.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite was 0.6% firmer at 2,561.61, and the smaller, technology-heavy Shenzhen Composite added 0.81% to 1,266.55.

Fresh data showed China slashed its holdings of US Treasury bills, notes and bonds by around $6bn in August, to $1.165trn.

South Korea’s Kospi was ahead 1.04% at 2,167.51, while the markets in Hong Kong was closed for a public holiday.

Blue-chip technology stock Samsung Electronics was 1.26% higher in Seoul.

Sentiment in the region was given a boost by Wall Street’s best day since March overnight, amid another round of strong quarterly results.

It wasn’t all rosy in the US, however, as president Donald Trump threw more criticism at the Federal Reserve, describing it as his “biggest threat” and claiming it was hiking interest rates too far.

Oil prices slipped, with Brent crude last down 0.47% at $81.03 per barrel, and West Texas Intermediate down 0.63% to $71.47.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.18% to 5,939.10, while across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 was up 1.2% to 8,911.79.

The Wellington bourse was led higher by A2 Milk, which rose 9.2% on the back of a strong first quarter update, in which it claimed it had grown its share of China’s infant formula market to 5.6% from 5.1%.

Both of the down under dollars were weaker on the greenback, with the Aussie last down 0.29% at AUD 1.4044, and the Kiwi retreating 0.24% to NZD 1.5237.