Asian shares advanced on Thursday, following Wall Street’s record-setting gains, as investors shrugged off the U.S. government shutdown and technology stocks led the rally.
South Korea’s Kospi jumped 2.9% to 3,555.63 after Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix announced a partnership with OpenAI to supply memory chips for its Stargate data hubs. Samsung shares rose 4.6%, while SK Hynix surged 10.8%. Taiwan-based TSMC gained 3.3%, lifting the Taiex by 1.7%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 0.3% to 44,675.96, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.3% to 27,206.18. Markets in mainland China remained closed for a national holiday. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 climbed 1%, led by gold mining stocks, and India’s BSE Sensex gained 0.9% after the Reserve Bank of India kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged.
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In U.S. trading on Wednesday, the S&P 500 rose 0.3% to 6,711.20, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.1% to 46,441.10, and the Nasdaq climbed 0.4% to 22,755.16. Investors are weighing the impact of the government shutdown and upcoming economic reports on the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decisions.
Crude oil prices inched higher, with U.S. benchmark crude at $62.08 per barrel and Brent crude at $65.65. The U.S. dollar strengthened against the yen, while gold eased slightly from record highs.
Source: AP