Asian-Pacific markets opened on a strong note Friday, after a robust performance in US markets overnight.
By 11:00 am AEST (1:00 am GMT) the ASX 200 rose 0.6%, Kospi 200 climbed 0.9%, and Japan's Nikkei 225 surged 1.7%.
US stocks rallied across the board. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 1.3% to 42,025.19, the S&P 500 gained 1.7%, closing at 5,713.64, and the Nasdaq rose 2.5% to 18,013.98.
Among S&P 500 companies, Darden Restaurants Inc. led the gainers, soaring 8.3%. Tesla Inc. surged 7.4%, and Quanta Services Inc. lifted 6.6%.
The biggest decliners were Deckers Outdoor Corp, dropping 3.26%, Ventas Inc. down 3.13%, and Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., falling 3.08%.
Among commodities, brent crude oil saw an uptick of 1.7%, trading at $74.88 per barrel, while gold remained flat at $2,587.04.
Chinese markets closed in positive territory, with the Shanghai Composite Index rising 0.7% to 2,736.02, and the Shenzhen Composite adding 1.6%.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index surged 2%, closing at 18,013.16. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average also rallied 2.1%, closing at 37,155.33. Meanwhile, India’s BSE SENSEX saw a modest increase of 0.3%, ending at 83,184.80.
European stocks continued their upward trajectory. The FTSE 100 in the UK added 0.9%, closing at 8,328.72. Germany’s DAX rose 1.6% to 19,002.38, and France’s CAC 40 surged 2.3%, closing at 7,615.41.
