· The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 52.4 points, or 0.21 percent, to 24,886.81, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 8.85 points, or 0.32 percent, to 2,733.29 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 47.50 points, or 0.64 percent, to 7,425.96.
U.S. stocks ended with small gains on Wednesday after minutes from the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting suggested higher inflation may not result in faster interest rate hikes.
· Asian markets were mixed on Thursday, following slight gains seen stateside after the release of the Federal Reserve's latest minutes.
· In Japan, the Nikkei 225 declined 0.47 percent, extending losses of more than 270 points in the last session on the firmer yen. The broader Topix traded lower by around the same level, with declines seen in financials and materials.
Autos were broadly lower, as were other major exporters, with Honda Motor falling 1.18 percent and Toyota Motor sliding 1.48 percent.
· Down Under, the S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.17 percent, with the heavily weighted financials subindex dragging the index lower. National Australia Bank fell 1.22 percent, leading losses among the country's "Big Four" banks.
· South Korea's benchmark Kospi, however, bucked the downward trend to edge higher by 0.24 percent in the early going.
· MSCI's index of shares in Asia Pacific excluding Asia was little changed, last drifting 0.01 percent above the flat line.
Reference: Reuters, CNBC
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