People walk inside the Korea Exchange (KRX) building as stock markets across Asia are affected by the escalating political turmoil over President Yun Seok-Yeol’s role in martial law on December 9, 2024 in Seoul, South Korea. .
Daniel Cheng | Anadolu | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets were mostly higher on Thursday after U.S. markets surged on the back of an unexpected decline in core inflation in December and strong bank profits.
The Central Bank of Korea left the policy interest rate unchanged at 3%, surprising market participants. A Reuters survey of economists predicted that the Bank of Korea would cut its policy interest rate by 25 basis points.
Korean Kospi The stock ended the day 1.23% higher at 2,527.49, and the small-cap Kosdaq index rose 1.77% to 724.24 following the announcement. The Korean won was last traded slightly lower at 1,456.91 won against the dollar.
Japanese benchmark Nikkei Stock Average The closing price was 38,572.60, up 0.33%, but TOPIX was down 0.09%, at 2,688.31.
Japan’s annual producer price index rose 3.8% in December, in line with economists’ forecasts polled by Reuters.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 1.08% in the last hour of trading, while mainland China’s CSI300 index rose 0.11% to close at 3,800.38.
In Australia, S&P/ASX 200 It ended the day up 1.38% at 8,327.
The country’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4% in December, up slightly from 3.9% in November and in line with economists’ forecasts compiled by Reuters.
Stock prices rose sharply in the US overnight, with all three major averages hitting their highest levels since November 6th.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.65%, while the S&P 500 rose 1.83%. The Nasdaq Composite Index, which has a high proportion of tech stocks, rose 2.45%.
Meanwhile, the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield fell sharply to about 4.65%, or about 13 basis points, following the CPI report.
Oil prices rose on news of a ceasefire and hostage agreement between Israel and Hamas. Brent crude rose 0.21% and WTI rose 0.29% to $80.27 per barrel.
—CNBC’s Hakyung Kim and Lisa Kailai Han contributed to this report.
