Asian stock markets are trading mostly higher on Thursday, supported by positive cues from Wall Street overnight.
Gains are led by China, where multiple government departments unveiled medium- and long-term investment plans to boost capital market confidence.
However, concerns over potential US tariff threats from President Donald Trump capped further gains.
Nikkei rises ahead of BOJ decision
The Japanese market is trading higher on Thursday, extending its winning streak to four sessions.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 has gained 258.10 points, or 0.65%, to 39,904.35, buoyed by gains in select index heavyweights and exporters.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is leading the gains, up over 4%, while Sony has added nearly 2.41%. Exporters like Panasonic and Canon are also performing well, each up about 1%.
Japan’s economic data provided additional support. The country posted a merchandise trade surplus of 130.936 billion yen in December, beating expectations for a deficit. Exports rose 2.8% year-on-year, exceeding forecasts, while imports climbed 1.8%, below expectations.
The Bank of Japan is anticipated to raise interest rates on Friday. This move would increase short-term borrowing costs to levels not seen since the 2008 global financial crisis.
During the two-day meeting concluding on Friday, the BOJ is expected to hike its short-term policy rate to 0.5%.
China, Hong Kong markets rebound
China’s Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 and Shanghai Composite indexes rose 1.2% and 0.7%, respectively, on Thursday, recovering from losses in the previous session.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index also gained 0.3%.
Chinese stocks dropped on Wednesday following US President Donald Trump’s threat to impose a 10% tariff on Chinese imports starting February 1.
However, sentiment improved towards Chinese markets after Beijing announced plans to guide major state insurers and commercial insurance funds to boost investments in domestic stocks.
This move signals more government capital entering the stock market, reinforcing Beijing’s ongoing support for the struggling equity market.
China’s Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 and Shanghai Composite indexes surged 1.01% and 1.37%, respectively, on Thursday.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index added 0.3%.
In addition to stock market support, China is expected to implement more stimulus measures this year to counter the economic impact of US trade tariffs.
Other regional markets
The Australian market is trading notably lower on Thursday, snapping a three-day winning streak.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 has dropped 53.10 points, or 0.63%, to 8,376.70, while the All Ordinaries Index is down 53.30 points, or 0.61%, at 8,627.20.
Mining stocks are among the biggest losers, with BHP Group and Mineral Resources both down nearly 2%, while Rio Tinto has fallen over 1% and Fortescue Metals more than 2%.
South Korea’s KOSPI dropped to the 2520 level due to simultaneous selling by foreign investors and institutions.
The KOSPI was at 2525.37, down by 0.86% from the previous session. The index had opened at 2541.24, down 5.82 points (0.23%) from the prior close, and the decline widened throughout the session.
Foreign investors and institutions were net sellers, with foreign investors offloading 480.1 billion won and institutions selling 134 billion won, which contributed to the drop in the KOSPI. In contrast, individual investors were net buyers, purchasing a total of 588.6 billion won.
Wall Street continues rally on Wednesday
US stocks ended on a strong note on Wednesday, bolstered by positive earnings reports and corporate news, alongside continued optimism about potential interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve this year.
The major indexes all posted gains, with the Nasdaq seeing the most significant rise, driven by strong earnings and sales guidance from Netflix, as well as President Trump’s AI initiative.
The Dow closed up by 130.92 points, or 0.3%, at 44,156.73. The S&P 500 rose by 37.13 points, or 0.61%, to 6,086.37, while the Nasdaq gained 252.56 points, or 1.28%, reaching 20,009.34.
Trump’s announcement of a $500 billion private-sector AI infrastructure investment plan, involving Oracle, OpenAI, and SoftBank, contributed to the strong performance of tech stocks.
Oracle shares surged nearly 7%, NVIDIA rose about 4.2%, Microsoft gained nearly 4%, and Meta Platforms ended up by about 2.7%.
Netflix saw a nearly 10% spike after reporting the addition of 19 million subscribers in the fourth quarter, marking the largest quarterly subscriber gain in its history.
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