Tokyo, Japan (BBN)-Asian shares are trading higher for a second day after Wednesday’s strong rally across the region.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 was up by 0.9 per cent to 16,897.19 points, extending the previous day’s jump of more than 4 per cent, reports BBC.

Electronics giant Toshiba rose by almost 10 per cent on reports it had secured a further $2.2bn (£1.6bn) in bank loans for its restructuring efforts.

The Japanese company is in the process of a major overhaul on the heels of its massive accounting scandal.

In China, the mainland Shanghai Composite rose by 0.3 per cent to 2,859.31 points while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng edged up 0.2 per cent to 20,043.27.

In Australia, the benchmark ASX/200 index rose by 0.8 per cent to 5,062.30 points in morning trade.

Commodity firms saw strong gains for a second day, with Rio Tinto and Fortescue rising 2.2 per cent and 8 per cent respectively.

Investors reacted positively to the settlement between Brazil and Samarco over the 2015 mudslide when a mine breached a dam setting off a deadly mudslide, causing widespread environmental damage.

Samarco is partly owned by Anglo-Australian mining giant BHP Billiton which saw its shares rise as much as 4 per cent in early trade.

In South Korea, the Kospi index saw a 0.3 per cent rise to 1,951.44 points.

After strong car sales figures for the country’s car makers over past days, Wednesday saw equally strong February data coming in for the domestic market.

The country’s top car makers Hyundai, Kia and SSangyong all saw gains in early trade.

Investor sentiment was also helped by South Korea’s annual inflation rate in February beating expectations.

That undermined market hopes the central bank would cut rates in the near future to prop up growth.

BBN/SK/AD