Asian stocks up as China takes long week-end break

Sep 03, 2015 (LBO) – Asian markets opened higher on Thursday, following a Wall Street rally on Wednesday and stronger commodity prices, foreign media reports said. Japan's benchmark Nikkei index was up 1.8 percent to 18,412.2 in early trade. While, In South Korea, the benchmark Kospi index was higher by 0.8 percent at 1,929.6 after revised second quarter growth figures turned out to be in line with earlier estimates released in July. According to data the economy grew a seasonally-adjusted 0.3 percent from April to June from the previous three-month period, while it expanded 2.2 percent from a year earlier. Meanwhile, US shares snapped a two-day losing streak overnight, rebounding from Tuesday's steep losses as the S&P 500 and Dow Jones rose nearly 2 percent. Rising oil prices, along with an upward revision in US productivity data boosted sentiment among investors rattled by slowing growth in China. Chinese markets are closed on Thursday and Friday for a holiday to commemorate the end of World War Two. "Respite in global equities may only reflect temporarily allayed concerns about whether the rest of the world was going to catch a cold from China's sneeze. Away for the Victory Day long weekend today and tomorrow, China's "bed rest" means that a break from Shanghai stock gyrations will make for much less nail-biting," analysts from Mizuho Bank wrote in a note.