Japan's Nikkei 225 jumped 2.5% as the yen weakened

Japanese stocks led Asian markets higher on Thursday after Wall Street edged higher amid rising tensions in the Middle East.

of Japan Nikkei 225 Opened 2.57% higher while broad-based topics added 2%.

The yen weakened to 146.54 against the US dollar overnight. On Wednesday, Japan's new prime minister, Shigeru Ishiba, told reporters that economic conditions currently do not support another rate hike. Ishiba made his comments after meeting Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda.

Investors will be looking at a busy slate of data in Asia. Australia's seasonally adjusted Judo Bank Composite PMI data came in at 49.6 in September, down from 51.7 in August, crossing the 50 neutral mark. Services PMI posted 50.5, down from 52.5 in August.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics is also expected to report the country's trade data for August. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast a surplus of AU$5.5 billion, down from AU$6.01 billion in July.

Other data on tap includes Japanese PMI data for September and August retail sales from Hong Kong.

Markets in mainland China will be closed for a week-long holiday until Oct. 8, while South Korea will be closed on Thursday for National Founding Day.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 jumped 0.25%.

of Hong Kong Hang Seng Index Futures were at 22,438, slightly lower than the HSI's last close of 22,443.73, capping a strong session on Wednesday when the index closed 6% higher after hitting a 22-month high.