In today’s trading session. Asian stocks showed gains following a rally on Wall Street, which brought the S&P 500 to within 1% of its record high. 

In Tokyo, Seoul, Sydney, and China, benchmark indices climbed, with investors particularly attentive to the release of April’s inflation data. 

Japan’s Finance Ministry announced a historic current account surplus for the fiscal year ending in March, driven by robust auto exports that narrowed the trade deficit and solid returns on overseas investments. However, the positive data was tempered by subdued consumer spending. 

Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed up to 0.4% closing at 38,229.11, while South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.8%, closing at 2,733.06.

The Hang Seng Index also went up by 2.1%, reaching 18,918.54, while the Shanghai Composite gained 0.2%, closing at 3,160.61

Customs data released on Thursday indicates that China’s exports and imports experienced growth in April, signaling an improvement in demand amidst a somewhat uneven economic recovery.

According to the report, exports in April increased by 1.5% compared to the previous year, rebounding from a 7.5% decline in March, marking the first contraction since November. Meanwhile, imports surged by 8.4% in April, surpassing analysts’ predictions and significantly higher than the 1.9% decrease recorded in March.

Despite considerable efforts, China has been contending with consumer deflation for approximately a year, posing a significant challenge that Beijing has yet to overcome. 

Meanwhile, in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.5% closing at 7,761.90.

Thursday saw the S&P 500 climbing 0.5 percent to reach 5,214.08. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also surged by 0.8 percent to 39,387.76, while the Nasdaq composite increased by 0.3 percent to 16,346.26.