Asia-Pacific equity markets were mostly higher on Thursday, with Sony taking centre stage on the Nikkei on the back of its better-than-expected outlook and substantial dividend hike. Asian markets were also cheered by benign inflation data out of the US overnight that sent Wall Street higher.

The Nikkei 225 climbed 0.9 per cent to a new four-month high of 14,251.74, while the broader Topix rallied 1.4 per cent to 1,392.87, close to the 1,400 level it hasn’t breached since January 10. The market was bolstered by steel companies after a local report said Toyota would probably agree to a 30 per cent price hike of Nippon Steel’s steel sheet.