Asian stocks close Thursday with gains

ISTANBUL

Following better-than-expected inflation figures in the US, Asian markets saw a positive transaction day on Thursday.

The US' annual inflation rate was at 3% in June, down from 4% in May.

The Asia Dow, which includes blue-chip companies in the region, rose by 2% to 3,603.34 points as of 1205GMT.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 was up by 1.49% to close at 32,419.33 points.

The Hang Seng, the benchmark for blue-chip stocks trading on the Hong Kong exchange, soared by 2.6% to 19,350.62 points.

China's Shanghai Stock Exchange grew by 1.26% to 3,236.48.

On Thursday, official figures showed that China's exports decreased by 12.4% in June after declines in May and April.

India's Sensex index increased by 0.25% to 65,558.89 points and the Singapore index rose marginally by 1.99% to 3,238.46 points.