The Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE), operated by Japan Exchange Group Inc. (JPX), in Tokyo, Japan, on Monday, Aug. 5, 2024.
Noriko Hayashi | Bloomberg | Getty Images
SINGAPORE — Asia-Pacific markets opened mostly higher on Thursday, following gains on Wall Street that saw the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average reach new records as investors shook off geopolitical concerns.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.1% in early trade South Korea’s Kospi jumped 0.5%, while the small-cap Kosdaq was down 0.4%.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 was trading up 0.3%, while the broad-based Topix gained 0.2%.
Traders in Asia were assessing September data on producer prices in Japan which rose 2.8% from a year ago. Economists polled by Reuters had predicted the inflation rate would come in at 2.3%, down from 2.5% in August.
Japanese retailer Seven & i Holdings Co. will report its quarterly earnings on Thursday, with much of the focus on what it will say about restructuring and outlook after it reportedly received a higher buyout offer from Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. Seven & i shares were up just 0.6% on Thursday.
The mainland CSI 300 was little changed at the open, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was up 2.6% in early trading.
Traders were monitoring markets in China after the Shenzhen Composite Index registered its worst trading day since 1997 on Wednesday. Following a blitz of stimulus measures at the end of September, which spurred a market rally, Beijing has subsequently disappointed investors by not announcing further major steps.
Overnight in the U.S., the S&P 500 rallied 0.71% to end at 5,792.04 after hitting an all-time high, while the 30-stock Dow surged 431.63 points, or 1.03%, to reach 42,512 for a record close. The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.6% to end at 18,291.62.
Wall Street maintained its gains after the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve’s September meeting, in which it cut by a half percentage point, revealed that a “substantial majority of participants” had favored reducing interest rates by the larger amount.
The strong trading day also came despite lingering fears of a broader war in the Middle East as Israel promises to launch a retaliatory strike against Iran.
— CNBC’s Samantha Subin and Sarah Min contributed to this report.
