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Employees work at the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE), operated by Japan Exchange Group Inc. (JPX), in Tokyo, Japan, on Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024.
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index hit a fresh record high Thursday, with investors awaiting trade data from Australia and China.
The Nikkei 225 opened 0.8% higher, breaching its previous record of 40,314.64. The broader Topix gained 0.6%, also hitting a record high.
This also follows comments from U.S. Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell, who reiterated his stance that while the central bank could start cutting rates, it was “not immediately ready.”
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.26%, also hitting a record high.
South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.42%, while the Kosdaq inched 0.1% higher.
Futures for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index stood at 16,565, higher than the HSI’s close of 16,438.09 and on pace to extend gains on Wednesday after it rose almost 2%.
Overnight in the U.S., all three major indexes regained ground after two straight days of declines, although some names like Apple, Alphabet and Disney sat out of the rally.
The S&P 500 added 0.51%, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.58%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded higher by 0.2%, although the blue-chip average was weighed down by a drop of more than 2% in Disney.
— CNBC’s Lisa Kailai Han and Alex Harring contributed to this report.
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