Asia-Pacific markets opened higher on Thursday, taking their cue from Wall Street’s fourth straight day of gains as investors embraced improving risk appetite and growing expectations of a Federal Reserve rate cut in December.
By 12:15 pm AEDT (1:15 am GMT), Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.4%, supported by broad-based strength. Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 1.3%, while South Korea’s Kospi 200 added 1.5%.
Fresh data added to the positive tone in Australia. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, private new capital expenditure rose 6.4% in the September quarter, leaving investment 6.9% higher than a year earlier.
ABS head of business statistics Tom Lay said the increase was driven by “a large rise in spending on data centres, and investment in air transport,” noting it was the strongest quarterly rise since March 2021.
Investment in non-mining sectors climbed 8.6%, while mining investment rose 0.9%.
In South Korea, the Bank of Korea kept interest rates unchanged at 2.5%, aligning with market expectations.
Overnight in the United States, major indices advanced once again, with the Dow up 0.7%, the S&P 500 rising 0.7% and the Nasdaq gaining 0.8%.
Commodities also strengthened. Brent crude rose 1.2% to settle at US$62.54 per barrel, while spot gold gained 0.8% to an eight-day high of $4,163.58 per ounce.
In China, the Shanghai Composite slipped 0.2% to 3,864.2, while the CSI 300 edged 0.6% higher to 4,517.6.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index added 0.1% to 25,928.1, and India’s BSE Sensex advanced 1.2% to 85,609.5.
European markets also extended gains on Wednesday. The FTSE 100 climbed 0.9% to 9,691.6, Germany’s DAX advanced 1.1% to 23,726.2, and France’s CAC 40 rose 0.9% to 8,096.4.
