China's commerce ministry struck a conciliatory note and called for the creation of favourable conditions for trade talks, adding that Beijing was hopeful the United States would cancel some of the proposed tariffs.
"There has been a lot of negativity in the market recently, so this development (China's comments) will definitely be seen as a positive sign," said Joel Ng, an equity research analyst with KGI Securities.
Thai shares gained 1.4%, helped by financial and energy stocks. Oil and gas explorer PTT Pcl rose 5.5% after a Bloomberg report that the company was exploring partnerships with countries in the Middle East to help meet the country's energy demand, while lender Kasikornbank gained 1.6%.
"Today's positivity is also partly from the possibility of more government stimulus, or at least of a cushion against the downsides coming our way, based on yesterday's headlines," said Maria Lapiz, managing director of institutional research at Maybank Kim Eng.
The finance ministry has enough fiscal space available for additional stimulus measures if needed, the Bangkok Post quoted the finance minister as saying.
"It is also the second day of the Thailand Focus meet, so I'm speculating some positivity from that too," Maria said.
Banking and industrial stocks helped Singapore's benchmark index <.STI> close at its highest in a week. Lender United Overseas Bank gained 1.5%, while conglomerate Jardine Matheson Holdings advanced 1.1%.
"The dividend yield levels for some of the big banks are encouraging investors to come in," Joel said.
Philippine stocks <.PSI> climbed 0.6%, helped by the utility and industrial sectors, after rallying over 1% on Wednesday.
Indonesian stocks <.JKSE> edged higher, aided by the resources and financial sectors.
After market hours, the finance minister revised down the economic growth outlook for 2019 to 5.08% from 5.2%.
(Reporting by Soumyajit Saha; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
By Soumyajit Saha
