Shipping containers are loaded onto an international freighter at the international cargo terminal in Tokyo.

Asia-Pacific markets largely rose on Thursday after Japan's GDP growth beat expectations, while traders also digested China retail sales, industrial output and urban unemployment data for July.

China's retail sales grew 2.7% year on year, beating expectations for a 2.6% growth from economists polled by Reuters. Industrial output on the other hand, grew 5.1% compared to forecasts of 5.2%. The urban unemployment rate climbed slightly to 5.2% from 5% in June.

Japan's second-quarter gross domestic product beat market expectations on a quarter-on-quarter basis, climbing 0.8% compared to forecasts of a 0.5% rise from economists polled by Reuters.

This was also a reversal from the revised 0.6% fall seen in the first quarter.

However, on a year-on-year basis, the country's GDP fell for a second straight quarter, down 0.8% and extending from the first quarter's contraction of 0.9%.

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