Japan's Nikkei average hit a seven-week closing high on Thursday, with exporters such as

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Sony Corp climbing after U.S. wholesale inventories fell unexpectedly in January and in wake of the yen's dip to a two-week low the previous day.

The benchmark Nikkei gained 101.03 points or 1 percent to 10,664.95, its highest close in roughly seven weeks.

The broader Topix added 0.9 percent to 930.38. The dollar dipped 0.2 percent on the day to 90.37 yen. On Wednesday, the dollar hit a two-week high of 90.83 yen on trading platform EBS.