South Korea’s central bank raised its key interest rate by a quarter point as planned on Thursday, aiming to contain inflation and prevent capital outflows as the U.S. Federal Reserve prepares for further hikes.
Jung Yeon-je | Afp | Getty Images
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index hit a new record high on Thursday, fueled by the “Takaichi trade”, while broader Asia-Pacific markets mainly rose after technology stocks fueled a Wall Street rally overnight.
THE Nikkei 225 rose 1.1%, to an all-time high of 59,199.31, extending its record winning streak to a third consecutive session. The broader Topix added 1.45%, also hitting a new high.
On Wednesday, the Japanese government enlisted Ayano Sato of Aoyama Gakuin University and Toichiro Asada of Chuo University as central bank board members, both have a dovish policy stance that also aligns with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s approach.
The two will succeed outgoing central bank board members Asahi Noguchi and Junko Nakagawa, whose terms expire at the end of March and June, respectively.
Japanese stocks have hit several record highs recently, buoyed by the so-called “Takaichi trade” as investors bet that the prime minister’s growth-oriented policies – seen as an extension of Abenomics – will send stocks higher while putting pressure on the yen through looser monetary policy and increased fiscal spending.
South Korea’s Kospi rose 1.65%, while the small-cap Kosdaq gained 0.57%.
Australia S&P/ASX200 gained 0.8%, also hitting a record high early in the session.
Hong Kong Hang Seng Index fell 0.62%, while the CSI 300 lost 0.2%.
The Bank of Korea left its key interest rate unchanged at 2.5%, in line with Reuters expectations.
Asian technology stocks rebounded as better-than-expected results from Nvidia eased fears of a slowdown in the artificial intelligence sector.
Stocks of South Korean chipmaking giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix jumped in early trading.
SK Hynix, which is a leading supplier of high-bandwidth memory used in Nvidia’s AI applications, rose more than 2%. Samsung Electronicswhich was decades old partner of Nvidia, was up about 5%.
Other South Korean tech stocks also rose, with components maker LG Innotek jumping nearly 14%, while Seoul Semiconductor climbed 13%.
In Japan, the TOPIX Information & Communication index climbed 2.6%, building on the previous day’s gain of 0.58%.
In the United States, stocks rose overnight, supported by Nvidia And Oracleas stocks build on gains from the previous trading day.
THE S&P500 added 0.81% to close at 6,946.13, and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.26% to 23,152.08. THE Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 307.65 points, or 0.63%, to 49,482.15.
Nvidia released its fourth quarter financial results which beat Wall Street expectations, fueled by a 75% increase in revenue from its core data center segment. Shares gained as much as 2% in extended trading after the release.
The company reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.62, beating the $1.53 forecast of analysts surveyed by LSEG. Revenue totaled $68.13 billion, above estimates of $66.21 billion.
—CNBC’s Sean Conlon and Pia Singh contributed to this report.