U.S. markets closed higher on Thursday supported by good U.S. data on Retail Sales and unemployment. Growth in the world's largest economy seems sustainable and boosts investors' confidence The DOW JONES added +0.36% closing at 17,596.34 points, the S&P 500 gained +0.45%, with a final quote of 2,035.33 points. Falling oil prices further weighed down energy shares.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng is trading -0.16% at 23,275.96. China's Shanghai Composite closed at 2,939.47 points, a gain of +0.47%. Chinese Industrial Production further slowed, reading +7.2% compared to +7.7% in October and below a forecast of +7.5%. Fixed Asset Investment was in line with expectations at 15.8%. Retail Sales beat expectations by +0.2% at 11.7%.

Japan's Nikkei gained +0.66% closing at 17,371.58. Exporter Shares were supported by the solid U.S. Retail Sales data and a weakening yen. Markets were also supported by polls showing a clear victory for Prime Minister Abe's Party at the upcoming elections.