Asian shares gained on Thursday, taking heart from a late recovery on Wall Street and from reassurances from China's central bank that there was no basis for further yuan depreciation after it devalued the currency earlier this week, Reuters reported. The People's Bank of China (PBOC) set its guidance rate at 6.4010 per dollar prior to the market open, weaker than the previous fix of 6.3306. The gap between the guidance rate and the traded spot market rate narrowed sharply as the central bank tried to curb the yuan's slide. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.6 percent, after U.S. shares rebounded and two out of three main indexes end in positive territory. Japan's Nikkei stock index shrugged off early losses and downbeat capital expenditure figures to end up 1 percent. Against the yen, the dollar was about 0.2 percent higher at 124.46. The euro edged down about 0.1 percent to $1.1143 after scaling a one-month peak of $1.1215 on Wednesday, helped by the unwinding of euro-funded carry trades in the yuan and other emerging market currencies. In commodities trading, spot gold was down about 0.3 percent at $1,120.80 an ounce after logging its fifth straight session of gains. Crude oil futures extended overnight gains made on lower U.S. crude stockpiles, but remained not far from six-year lows plumbed this week on fears that China's weaker currency would hit imports. U.S. crude was up about 0.4 percent at $43.45 a barrel, while Brent added about 0.5 percent to $49.89.
