Aerial view of the capital city of Seoul in South Korea, seen at sunset.
Tobiasjo | E+ | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed Thursday as investors assessed a slew of economic data in the region, with China stocks leading gains.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 0.24%, while the CSI 300 climbed 1.01%. China’s financial regulators on Thursday urged large state-owned mutual funds and insurers to purchase more shares, as Beijing seeks to bolster its faltering stock market.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 traded 0.72% lower.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.84%, while the Topix added 0.6%.
South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.78% and the Kosdaq traded 0.76% lower. South Korea’s economy expanded 1.2% year on year in the fourth quarter, marking its slowest expansion since the second quarter of 2023.
Singapore is expected to report its inflation numbers for December. The Bank of Japan is also holding its next policy meeting today and tomorrow, where the BOJ governor Kazuo Ueda had signaled intentions to hike rates.
Overnight in the U.S., the three major averages advanced, with the S&P 500 hitting a fresh all-time high as technology shares such as Oracle and Nvidia rallied on artificial intelligence optimism and President Donald Trump’s new term in office.
The S&P 500 advanced 0.61% after hitting an intraday record of 6,100.81, exceeding the last milestone touched in December before the market pullback. The broad index closed at 6,086.37, slightly below its all-time closing high.
The Nasdaq Composite popped 1.28% to 20,009.34, underscoring the outperformance of tech names. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 130.92 points, or 0.3%, to 44,156.73, boosted by Procter & Gamble‘s gain of nearly 2% on the back of strong earnings.
—CNBC’s Samantha Subin, Alex Harring and Sarah Min contributed to this report.
