Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed on Thursday as investors monitored major technology earnings results, while geopolitical tensions increased after U.S. forces resumed strikes against Iran in response to missile attacks on American forces in the region.
By 11:45am AEST (1:45am GMT), Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.4%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 2.2% and South Korea’s KOSPI 200 advanced 4.7%.
Shares of Samsung Electronics rose 7% after the company reported second-quarter operating profit that beat expectations on strong artificial intelligence demand.
The South Korean technology giant posted record second-quarter operating profit, rising 1,814% year over year, while revenue increased 130%.
Profit climbed more than 56% from the previous quarter, while revenue rose more than 28%.
Among data releases, South Korean business sentiment rebounded in July as manufacturing conditions improved, according to central bank data released on Thursday.
The composite business sentiment index (CBSI) across all industries increased 0.8 points from the previous month to 98.5 in July, following a 1.2-point decline in June, according to the Bank of Korea.
In Australia, total building approvals increased 7.2% in June to 18,328, according to seasonally adjusted data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Daniel Rossi, ABS head of construction statistics, said approvals for private dwellings excluding houses rose 17.8% in June after an 11.0% fall in May.
“Approvals for private dwellings excluding houses rose by 17.8 per cent in June, following an 11.0 per cent fall in May.
“Private sector house approvals rose 0.4 per cent in June, marking the sixth month in a row with more than 10,000 private sector houses approved across Australia."
“The increase saw dwellings approved in the 2025-26 financial year at its highest level since 2020-21, with private sector houses at the highest level since 2021-22 and private sector dwellings excluding houses at the highest level since 2017-18,” Mr Rossi said.
In the U.S. on Wednesday, major benchmarks finished lower, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling 2.2%, the S&P 500 declining 1.5% and the Nasdaq dropping 1.7%.
In commodities, ICE Brent crude rose 7.3% to US$88.09 per barrel, while spot gold gained 1% to settle at US$4,067.82 per ounce.
In China, the SSE Composite Index added 0.4% to 3,828.5, while the CSI 300 increased 0.7% to 4,600.3.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 2% to 25,807.9, while India’s BSE Sensex gained 1.2% to 77,654.6.
European markets were mixed on Wednesday. The UK’s FTSE 100 added 0.3% to 10,908.4, reaching a fresh intraday record high, while Germany’s DAX finished flat at 25,460.5 and France’s CAC 40 fell 0.6% to 8,408.3.
