Nikkei, Kospi reach new highs in Asian markets rally
Asian stock markets were mostly higher on Thursday, with benchmark indexes in Japan and South Korea reaching fresh record levels, even after Wall Street lost momentum following a stronger-than-expected US jobs report. US stock futures edged up in early trading.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 climbed past the 58,000 mark at the start of trading as markets reopened after a public holiday, News.Az reports, citing AP.
By midday, the index was up 0.2% at 57,748.81. Japanese equities have extended gains after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi secured a landslide victory in Sunday’s parliamentary election, fueling investor expectations of continued pro-growth economic policies.
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South Korea’s Kospi also reached a new milestone, breaching the 5,500 level during Thursday’s session. The index was trading 2.5% higher at 5,485.71, led by advances in technology shares.
Samsung Electronics, the country’s largest listed firm, jumped 5.9%, while chipmaker SK Hynix rose 3.3%.
Elsewhere in the region, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.9% to 27,024.06, while the Shanghai Composite Index edged up 0.1% to 4,137.06. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.3% to 9,037.60.
On Wall Street Wednesday, the S&P 500 ended virtually unchanged, slipping 0.34 points to 6,941.47 after earlier approaching a record high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.1% to 50,121.40, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.2% to 23,066.47.
According to the US Labor Department, employers added 130,000 jobs in January—significantly exceeding economists’ forecasts. Jonas Goltermann, deputy chief markets economist at Capital Economics, said the strong non-farm payrolls report “strengthens the case for higher US Treasury yields and a rebound in the dollar over the coming months.” He added that the data suggests the labor market is stabilizing, making the likelihood of a Federal Reserve rate cut in the near term “quite low.”
Among individual US stocks, Robinhood Markets fell 8.8% as investors reacted to a slowdown in cryptocurrency trading activity, with Bitcoin prices recently dropping to about half of their October record high. Moderna lost 3.5% after the US Food and Drug Administration declined to review its application for a new flu vaccine. Kraft Heinz rose 0.4% after announcing it would pause plans to split into two businesses.
Shares in raw materials and energy companies posted some of the strongest gains. Exxon Mobil advanced 2.6%, while packaging company Smurfit Westrock surged 9.9%.
In commodities trading early Thursday, US benchmark crude oil added 40 cents to $65.03 per barrel, and Brent crude rose 38 cents to $69.78 per barrel. Gold prices declined 0.4% to $5,079.30 per ounce, while silver slipped 0.6% to $83.42 an ounce.
In currency markets, the US dollar weakened to 152.77 Japanese yen from 153.27 yen. The euro traded at $1.1862, slightly lower than the previous $1.1873.
By Nijat Babayev
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