Asia-Pacific markets opened mixed on Thursday, following a record-breaking session on Wall Street as technology companies rallied.
By 11:30 am AEDT (12:30 am GMT) the ASX 200 and Nikkei 225 added 0.2% and 0.6%, respectively, while the Kospi 200 eased 0.2% after lawmakers filed a motion to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol, less than a day after he declared martial law.
Among data releases, South Korea’s revised third-quarter GDP showed a 0.1% quarter-on-quarter growth and a 1.5% year-on-year expansion, in line with earlier estimates.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.7%, closing at 45,014.0, while the S&P 500 gained 0.6%, ending at 6,086.5. The Nasdaq saw the largest gain, up 1.3% to 19,735.1, driven by strong performances in the information technology and consumer discretionary sectors.
Salesforce, ServiceNow, and Edwards Lifesciences were among the top gainers, while Texas Pacific Land, Campbell’s, and Albemarle were the biggest decliners.
As investors await the U.S. November unemployment report on Friday, attention is turning to the Federal Reserve’s next policy moves. Markets are anticipating a 77.6% probability of a quarter-point rate cut when the Federal Open Market Committee meets in two weeks, accord to the CME Group FedWatch Tool.
In commodity markets, oil prices fell ahead of Thursday’s closely watched OPEC+ meeting, with Brent crude down 1.7% to US$72.40 per barrel. Gold saw a slight gain, rising 0.2% to US$2,649.79 per ounce.
Chinese shares ended the session lower, with the Shanghai Composite Index falling 0.4% to 3,364.6, and the CSI 300 dropping 0.5% to 3,930.6. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closed flat at 19,742.5.
In India, stocks ended higher, with the BSE SENSEX gaining 0.1% to 80,956.3.
In Europe, stocks also showed positive movement, with Germany’s DAX rising 1.1% to 20,232.1 and France’s CAC 40 increasing by 0.7% to 7,303.3. Meanwhile, the FTSE 100 in the U.K. closed lower, falling 0.3% to 8,335.8.