The Nikkei 225 in Japan rises by 2.5% due to a weaker yen.

• Investors will look ahead to a busy slate of data in Asia.
• In September, Australia's seasonally adjusted Judo Bank Composite PMI data was 49.6, lower than the 51.7 in August and below the 50 neutral mark.
• The markets in mainland China will remain closed for a week-long holiday from Oct. 1 to Oct. 8, while South Korea will be shut on Thursday for National Foundation Day.

Asian markets rose Thursday, led by Japan stocks, while Wall Street inched higher despite tensions in the Middle East.

Japan's opened 2.57% higher while the broad-based Topix added 2%.

Japan's new prime minister, Shigeru Ishiba, stated that economic conditions do not support another rate hike, following a meeting with Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda. The yen weakened to 146.54 against the U.S. dollar overnight.

The upcoming data calendar in Asia will be packed with events. Australia's seasonally adjusted Judo Bank Composite PMI data for September was 49.6, lower than August's 51.7, and below the 50 neutral mark. The services PMI also decreased from 52.5 in August to 50.5.

The Bureau of Statistics in Australia is predicted to release the country's trade data for August. According to a Reuters poll, economists forecast a trade surplus of AU$5.5 billion for August, which is lower than the AU$6.01 billion surplus recorded in July.

Japan's PMI data for September and Hong Kong's August retail sales are also available.

In mainland China, markets will remain closed for a week-long holiday from Oct. 1 to Oct. 8, while South Korea will be shut on Thursday for National Foundation Day.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 jumped 0.25%.

The HSI's last close of 22,443.73 was slightly higher than Hong Kong's futures at 22,438, which came after a strong session on Wednesday when the index closed over 6% higher after hitting a 22-month high.

In the U.S., the three major stock market indices finished slightly above the flatline overnight. The S&P 500 added just 0.01% to close at 5,709.54, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained roughly 39 points to close at 42,196.52. The Nasdaq Composite also gained 0.08% to end at 17,925.12.