Asia markets poised to rise after Wall Street rebound; trade data from Australia and China awaited

This is CNBC's live blog covering Asia-Pacific markets.

Asia-Pacific markets are set to rise as investors await trade data from Australia and China on Thursday.

This also follows comments from U.S. Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell, who reiterated his stance that while the central bank could start cutting rates, it is "not immediately ready."

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.14%, nearing its all time high of 7,745.6 hit on March 1.

Japan's Nikkei 225 looks to continue its run above the 40,000 mark, with the futures contract in Chicago at 40,360 and its counterpart in Osaka at 40,350 against the index's last close of 40,090.78.

Futures for Hong Kong's Hang Seng index stood at 16,565, higher than the HSI's close of 16,438.09 and on pace to extend gains on Wednesday after it rose almost 2%.

Overnight in the U.S., all three major indexes regained ground after two straight days of declines, although some names like Apple, Alphabet and Disney sat out of the rally.

The S&P 500 added 0.51%, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.58%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded higher by 0.2%, although the blue-chip average was weighed down by a drop of more than 2% in Disney.

— CNBC's Lisa Kailai Han and Alex Harring contributed to this report.

India's economic prospects are shining bright, attracting global investors eager to capitalize on the country's immense growth potential.

The International Monetary Fund expects India's real gross domestic product (GDP) to expand by 6.5% in 2024. 

However, tapping into these opportunities as a foreign investor is not as straightforward as buying shares listed on the Indian stock exchanges. Limits on foreign ownership, complex tax implications, and corporate governance concerns create barriers.

CN