Asian stocks close Thursday with gains

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) – Almost all major Asian indices closed Thursday with gains, while the Indian Sensex index fell slightly by 0.17%.

The Asia Dow, which includes blue-chip companies in the region, rose 1.27% to 3,443.78 points as of 1000GMT.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 increased 1.6% to close at 30,573.93 points.

On Thursday, Japan's official figures showed that the country's exports rose by 2.6% while imports dropped by 2.3% in April.

The Hang Seng, the benchmark for blue-chip stocks trading on the Hong Kong exchange, was up by 0.85% to reach 19,727.25 points.

China's Shanghai Stock Exchange also increased 0.4% to 3,297.32 points, while the Singapore index rose by 0.27% to end the day at 3,182.55 points.

In China, internet giant Tencent's profit exceeded forecasts on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, India's Sensex index fell 0.17% to close at 61,458.83.

In the Asia continent, ahead of elections, New Zealand presented the budget, offering help for families, especially for young persons, including free public transport and free childcare.

Australia's unemployment rate increased to 3.7%, unexpectedly, in April, official figures showed on Thursday.