Asian shares experienced a rise on Thursday, following the positive momentum from Wall Street, which witnessed its winning streak extend to four consecutive days. Despite the gains in Asian markets, U.S. futures remained nearly unchanged while oil prices declined slightly.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index rose by 1% to reach 50,069.33, as investors speculated that the Federal Reserve would lower interest rates during its meeting scheduled for December 10. Additionally, the Japanese government announced plans to issue 11 trillion yen (approximately $70.5 billion) in new bonds to finance its economic stimulus package. Amidst this backdrop, technology stocks saw significant gains, with SoftBank Group increasing by 2.8% and Kioxia Holdings climbing 5.7% following a substantial drop of nearly 15% the previous day.
Chinese markets reflected cautious optimism, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng index up 0.3% at 25,927.96 and the Shanghai Composite index edging up by 0.1% to 3,883.01. However, gains were moderated by disappointing data indicating that profits for major Chinese industrial firms rose only 1.9% year-on-year in the first ten months of 2025, a slowdown from the 3.2% growth observed in the previous period.
In South Korea, the Kospi index increased by 0.7% to 3,986.54 after the Bank of Korea opted to maintain its policy rate at 2.5%, aiming to support financial stability amid concerns over a weakening currency and rising housing prices. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 saw minimal growth of less than 0.1%, closing at 8,610.50, while Taiwan's tech-heavy Taiex index gained 0.2%.
On the U.S. front, stocks closed higher on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 recording a 0.7% increase to 6,812.61. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also gained 0.7% to close at 47,427.12, while the Nasdaq composite rose by 0.8% to 23,214.69. The surge in U.S. stocks has been largely driven by optimistic comments from Federal Reserve officials, which have bolstered trader confidence regarding a potential interest rate cut in December. Current data from CME Group indicates that traders are betting on an approximately 83% probability of this cut occurring at the upcoming meeting.
The rally was notably supported by strong performances from technology companies, with many sectors in the benchmark S&P 500 index ending the day in the green. Among the notable gainers, Dell Technologies surged by 5.8% after announcing record orders for its artificial intelligence servers. Other technology firms, including Nvidia—which holds the title of the market's most valuable company—rose by 1.4%. Microsoft and Broadcom also saw their shares grow by 1.8% and 3.3%, respectively.
The financial sector contributed to the upward trajectory of the market, with Robinhood Markets experiencing a substantial 10.9% gain, becoming the top performer among S&P 500 companies. This was reportedly due to the trading platform's announcement of plans to launch a futures and derivatives exchange next year to diversify its business offerings. Urban Outfitters also joined a list of retailers this week by exceeding Wall Street earnings forecasts, resulting in a 13.5% jump in its stock price.
In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury dipped to 3.99%, while the yield on the 2-year Treasury rose to 3.48%. In early trading on Thursday, U.S. benchmark crude oil prices fell by 28 cents to $58.37 per barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, decreased by 33 cents to $61.84 per barrel. The U.S. dollar also exhibited a slight depreciation against the Japanese yen, falling to 156.14 from 156.40, while the euro appreciated to $1.1609 from $1.1601.
