JPX
The Bank of Japan is particularly concerned about consumer price levels Reuters

Major Asian indices rallied today after the Labour Day long weekend, as the Nikkei and Straits Times Index in particular registered strong gains.

Developments from the North American continent seem to have particularly influenced investor sentiments. On Sunday (April 30), Republicans and Democrats scrambled to draft a last minute spending bill worth $1tn (£770bn), which narrowly avoided a shutdown of the government.

More from IBTimes UK

Moreover, US President Donald Trump seemed to have scaled back on his aggressive rhetoric towards Pyongyang, as he expressed that he would be "honored" to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un when it would be "appropriate" during an interview with Bloomberg News on Monday.

It is also probable that investors are stockpiling their equities in anticipation of the US jobs data and Fed meeting due later this week. The US economy had a disappointing performance during the first quarter of 2017 with growth estimated at 0.7%, its lowest level in three years. The Trump administration's impact on the thus far robust jobs data is yet to be seen.

In addition, the UK economy had delivered a disappointing result for the first quarter of 2017, as growth was registered at 0.3%, indicating a fall to its lowest levels since the first three months of last year.

The following index quotes were logged on 6:23 am BST.

Japan: Nikkei-Up by 0.63% to 19,432.65

Minutes from the Bank of Japan's meeting on 15-16 March has revealed that policymakers are closely monitoring consumer prices as they are not following an upward trend. The minutes also confirmed the bank's commitment to quantitative easing, as consumer prices are projected to reach the 2% inflation target over time.

On the supply side of the economy, the Markit/Nikkei Japan Services Purchasing Manager's Index fell to 52.2 during April from 52.9 in March on a seasonally adjusted basis. The data indicates that Japan's current economic recovery is largely bolstered by strong exports rather than the economy's manufacturing and services sector.

Beleaguered firm Toshiba (+4.96%) emerged as one of the index's strongest performers along with conglomerate firm Yamaha Corp (+16.32%) and Mitsubishi Motors Corp (+2.26%).

Hong Kong: Hang Seng-Up by 0.24% to 24,675.07

Internet giant Tencent Holdings (+1.73%) and multinational technology firm Lenovo (0.40%) reported some of the strongest gains.

China: Shanghai Composite-Down by 0.25% to 3,146.638

Chinese manufacturing growth registered a 7-month low as the Caixin manufacturing Purchasing Manager's Index fell to 50.3 in April from 51.3 in March. The data was released by Caixin and IHS Markit on Tuesday (May 2).

Australia: S&P/ASX-Down by 0.40% to 5,932.699

The Reserve Bank of Australia decided to maintain the interest rates at a record low on Tuesday, in line with expectations. The cash rate will remain unchanged at 1.5%.

Singapore: Straits Times Index-Up by 0.86% to 3,202.63

India: Sensex-Up by 0.27% to 29,999.49