APAC markets opened positively on Thursday, after the Nasdaq Composite surged to record highs following November’s inflation report met expectations.
By 12 pm AEDT (1 am GMT) ASX 200 added 27.7 points or 0.3% to 8,381.6, the Kospi 200 gained 20.5 points or 0.8% to 2,463.9 and the Nikkei 225 gained 635.9 points or 1.6% to 40,006.5.
In Australia, fresh employment data came in ahead of expectations, with the unemployment rate falling to 3.9% in November.
In the U.S., major benchmark averages finished mixed, with the Dow down 0.2%, the S&P 500 adding 0.8% and the Nasdaq gaining 1.8% to fresh record highs.
The technology sector outperformed, with Alphabet gaining 5.5%, Tesla surging 5.9%, and Nvidia adding 3.1%.
Among commodities, Brent crude added 1.9% overnight to US$73.54 a barrel, while spot gold added 0.9% to $2,718.02 per ounce.
In China, the Shanghai Composite Index added 9.8 points or 0.3% to 3,432.5 and the CSI 300 slipped 6.8 points or 0.2% to 3,988.8.
In Hong Kong, the HSI slipped 0.8% to 20,155.1.
In India, the BSE Sensex remained little changed at 81,526.1.
European markets finished higher, with the FTSE 100 and the DAX gaining 0.3% apiece, while the CAC 40 added 0.4%.