Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225[1] led gains in Asia Thursday to notch a record high of 44,251.65, mirroring gains on Wall Street overnight on Fed-rate cut hopes and positive inflation data.
One of Nikkei 255’s heavyweights, tech investment firm SoftBank Group, jumped nearly 10% to notch a second straight day of gains.
Other top movers were Mitsui Mining and Smelting, which surged 5.34%, and Muji-owner Ryohin Keikaku, which traded 3.24% higher. Meanwhile, the Topix index was down 0.24%.
South Korea’s Kospi[2] advanced 0.65%, and the small-cap Kosdaq climbed 0.39%
Over in Australia, the ASX/S&P 200 declined 0.19%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index[3] fell 1.19% in early trade, while the Hang Seng Tech index retreated 1.3%. The mainland’s CSI 300 opened 0.15% lower.
U.S. equity futures were little changed in early Asian hours, as Wall Street awaited a key consumer inflation gauge for August due out Thursday morning stateside.
Overnight stateside, most of the key U.S. benchmarks rose to hit new record closing highs after the latest producer price index data showed that inflation was cooling.
The broad market S&P 500[4] finished up 0.3% at 6,532.04, a record close for the index. It had risen about 0.7% at its peak to 6,555.97, scoring a new all-time intraday high as well. The Nasdaq Composite[5] edged up 0.03% to end at 21,886.06, likewise notching a closing high after hitting an all-time intraday high before its afternoon pullback.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average[6] lost 220.42 points, or 0.48%, to finish at 45,490.92, bogged down by a decline in Apple[7] shares as the latest iPhone announcement[8] failed to impress investors.
— CNBC’s Sean Conlon and Lisa Kailai Han contributed to this report.
References
- ^ Nikkei 225 (www.cnbc.com)
- ^ Kospi (www.cnbc.com)
- ^ Hang Seng Index (www.cnbc.com)
- ^ S&P 500 (www.cnbc.com)
- ^ Nasdaq Composite (www.cnbc.com)
- ^ Dow Jones Industrial Average (www.cnbc.com)
- ^ Apple (www.cnbc.com)
- ^ latest iPhone announcement (www.cnbc.com)