Commercial and residential buildings are lit up at sunrise in Seoul, South Korea, Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023. South Korea has prepared a 75.9 trillion won (US$56.97 billion) financial support program for companies increasing their investments in key sectors, as well as for small businesses struggling with the impact of high interest rates.
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Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose to a new high on Thursday, surpassing 42,000 for the first time. Other markets in the Asia-Pacific region rose on the back of a rally in U.S. Big Tech and increased confidence in Federal Reserve rate cuts.
The Nikkei rose 1.37% at the open, while the broad-based Topix rose 1.17%, also hitting new highs.
Chip stocks were among the biggest winners in the U.S. trading session. U.S.-listed shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company rose 3.5% after April-June revenue beat Wall Street estimates.
Peer chip company Qualcomm edged higher as much as 0.8%, while Broadcom rose about 0.7%. Artificial intelligence darling Nvidia climbed 2.7%.
In Asia, investors will be looking for optimism about regional technology stocks, particularly in Japan, where chip-related companies have pushed the Nikkei 225 to record highs.
Economic releases from the region on Thursday included Japan’s May machine orders and the Bank of Korea interest rate decision.
| TICKER | COMPANY | NAME | PRICE | CHANGE | %CHANGE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| .N225 | Nikkei 225 index | NIKKEI | 42,216.82 | +384.83 | +0.92% |
| .HSI | Hang Seng Index | HSI | 17,471.67 | ONCH | ONCH |
| .AXJO | S&P/ASX 200 | ASX200 Price | 7,892.50 | +75.70 | +0.97% |
| .SSEC | Shanghai | Shanghai | 2,933.75 | -5.61 | -0.19% |
| .KS11 | KOSPI index | KOSPI | 2,890.76 | +22.77 | +0.79% |
| .FTFCNBCA | CNBC 100 ASIA IDX | CNBC 100 | 10,268.24 | +72.33 | +0.71% |
South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.96% ahead of the BOK’s decision, while the Kosdaq rose 0.22%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.85%.
Hong Kong Hang Seng index futures were at 17,615, higher than the HSI’s last closing price of 17,471.67.
In the US, all three major indexes rose overnight, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite rising 1.02% and 1.18% respectively.
The gains also helped the S&P break above the 5,600 mark for the first time, marking its 37th record close in 2024. The Nasdaq saw its 27th record close this year.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.09%.
Gains were also fueled by hopes of a rate cut. The Dow Jones said inflation would come in at 3.1% annualized in June, down from 3.3% in May.
Core inflation, which strips out more volatile food and energy prices, is expected to rise 3.4% from June last year. In May, the CPI was up 3.3% year-on-year.
—CNBC’s Brian Evans, Samantha Subin and Jesse Pound contributed to this report.