ANKARA

Stock markets in Asia closed on Thursday mostly with gains following China's interest rate cut and record high foreign trade figures in Japan.

The People's Bank of China cut its key lending rates for corporate and household loans for a second straight month to cushion a slowdown in economic recovery.

The one-year loan prime rate (LPR) was lowered by 10 basis points to 3.7% from 3.8%.

Japan saw record high exports and imports in December, led by stronger demand for cars and higher energy prices, according to preliminary data released by the Finance Ministry on Thursday.

Exports rose 17.5% year-on-year to 7.9 trillion yen ($69 billion), while imports jumped 41.1% to 8.5 trillion yen ($74 billion).

The Asia Dow, which includes the region's blue-chip companies, gained 58.5 points, or 1.55%, to close at 3,839 points.

The Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo rose 305.7 points, or 1.11%, to hit 27.772 at close.

The Hang Seng, the benchmark for blue-chip stocks trading on the Hong Kong stock exchange, climbed 824.5 points, or 3.42%, to 24,952.

China's Shanghai stock exchange was in negative territory, falling 3.12 points, or 0.09%, to 3,555 points.

The Indian Sensex benchmark decreased 877.8 points, or 1.46%, to close at 59,220 points, while the Singapore index increased 9.23 points, or 0.28%, to 3,293.