Commercial and residential buildings are illuminated at dawn in Seoul, South Korea on Saturday, October 21, 2023. South Korea has prepared a 75.9 trillion won ($56.97 billion) financial aid package for companies to boost investments in key sectors and small sectors. Businesses struggling with the impact of higher interest rates.
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Good pictures
Japan’s Nikkei 225 hit a new high on Thursday, surpassing 42,000 for the first time. Other Asia-Pacific markets rose on the back of a U.S. Big Tech rally and higher hopes for Federal Reserve rate cuts.
The Nikkei rose 1.37% at the open, while the broader-based Topix rose 1.17% to hit a new high.
Chip stocks were among the biggest winners of the US trading session. US-listed shares of the Taiwanese semiconductor maker added 3.5% after April-June earnings came in ahead of Wall Street estimates.
Peer chip company Qualcomm rose 0.8%, while Broadcom gained 0.7%. Artificial intelligence darling Nvidia rose 2.7%.
In Asia, investors are looking for any optimism in the region’s tech stocks, particularly in Japan, where chip-related companies have led the Nikkei 225.
Economic announcements from the region on Thursday included Japan’s May machinery orders and the Bank of Korea’s rate decision.
| ticker | Company | NAME | Price | change | % conversion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| .N225 | Nikkei 225 Index | NIKKEI | 42,234.77 | +402.78 | +0.96% |
| .HSI | Hang Seng Index | HSI | 17,471.67 | No | No |
| .AXJO | S&P/ASX 200 | ASX 200 | 7,889.00 | +72.20 | +0.92% |
| .SSEC | Shanghai | Shanghai | 2,933.75 | -5.61 | -0.19% |
| .KS11 | KOSPI Index | Cosby | 2,891.08 | +23.09 | +0.81% |
| .FTFCNBCA | CNBC 100 ASIA IDX | CNBC 100 | 10,238.91 | +43.00 | +0.42% |
South Korea’s Kospi was 0.96% higher than the BOK result, while the KOSTAG 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 close of 17,471.67.
Overnight in the US, all three major indexes rose, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite both up 1.02% and 1.18%, respectively.
The S&P broke above 5,600 points for the first time in 2024, marking its 37th record. The Nasdaq hit its 27th record high this year.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 1.09%.
Gains were also fueled by rate cut hopes, with Dow Jones expectations pointing to June’s inflation rate coming in at 3.1% year-over-year, down from the 3.3% rise seen in May.
Core inflation, which strips out highly volatile food and energy prices, is expected to rise 3.4% from June last year. In May, the CPI increased by 3.3% on a year-on-year basis.
—CNBC’s Brian Evans, Samantha Subin and Jesse Pound contributed to this report.
