Japanese shares rise for fifth day in row

SYDNEY, NSW, Australia - Stock markets in Japan were all ablaze on Thursday with investors pouring into the rising market, in fear of missing the bus.

The Nikkei 225, which has gained in the past five trading sessions, hit a new, fresh 30-year high.

"The upward market trend is prompting investors to buy more stocks. Investors are buying stocks out of this 'fear of missing out' sentiment," Takashi Hiroki, Chief Strategist at Monex Securities told Reuters Thomson Thursday.

At the close on Thursday, the Nikkei 225 was ahead 241.67 points or 0.85 percent at 28,698.26.

The Australian All Ordinaries rose 28.80 points or 0.41 percent to 6,982.70.

The Hang Seng in Hong Kong rallied 261.26 points or 0.93 percent to 28,496.86.

China's Shanghai Composite, going against the trend, fell 32.75 points or 0.91 percent to 3,565.90.

The U.S. dollar was little changed in Asian trading. The euro slipped to 1.2146. The British pound was firm at 1.3633. The Japanese yen edged down to 104.05. The Swiss franc was unchanged at 0.8879.

The Canadian dollar was a tad higher at 1.2691. The Australian dollar slipped to 0.7748. The New Zealand dollar was slightly lower but well bid at 0.7192.

Overnight on Wall Street, the Nasdaq Composite rising 56.52 points or 0.43 percent to 13,128.95.

The Standard and Poor's 500 gained 8.65 points or 0.23 percent to 3,809.84.

The Dow Jones fell 8.22 points or 0.03 percent to 31,060.47.