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As the clock struck midnight, the New Year was joyously welcomed at the Bank of China building in Hong Kong’s vibrant Central district. The scene was captured on January 1, 2026, by photojournalist Lam Yik for Reuters.
In South Korea, the stock market started the year with a noteworthy milestone. The Kospi index surged to an all-time high on Friday, marking an optimistic start to the trading year in the Asia-Pacific region, which saw mixed performances across various markets.
The Kospi climbed an impressive 2.27%, closing at a record-setting 4,309.63 points. This significant rise was partly driven by a nearly 7% increase in Samsung Electronics shares, buoyed by reports that the tech giant received accolades from customers for its high-performance memory bandwidth (HBM) chips.
Meanwhile, the Kosdaq, which focuses on small-cap stocks, also saw gains, closing up 2.17% at 945.57. However, not all Asian markets were active, as both Japan and mainland China remained closed for the holiday celebrations.
The small-cap Kosdaq was 2.17% higher, closing at 945.57.
Some Asian markets were still closed for the holidays, including Japan and mainland China.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index climbed 2.62% in its final hour of trade, with educational services stocks leading gains. Artificial intelligence chip designer Shanghai Biren surged over 70% after its debut, off a 5.58 billion Hong Kong dollar ($717 million) IPO.
The IPO, which was priced at 19.60 Hong Kong dollars, saw the public offer over 2,300 times subscribed even after the upsize option was exercised, while the international offer was 25.95 times subscribed.
Elsewhere, Singapore’s economy expanded 5.7% year on year for the fourth quarter, driven mainly by strong manufacturing growth in the three months through December. The latest reading is faster than the revised 4.3% growth in the previous quarter.
On Wednesday, Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced in his New Year message that the country had clocked a stronger-than-expected 4.8% expansion for the full year of 2025.
Singapore’s Straits Times Index also hit a record high Friday, and was last up 0.32%.
India’s Nifty 50 index was 0.61% higher, and the Sensex rose 0.56%. Shares of casual-dining restaurant operator Sapphire Foods plunged as much as 6.4% after it announced plans to merge with rival franchisee Devyani, before paring losses.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.15%, closing at 8,727.8.
U.S. stock futures were looking up in early Asian hours, with S&P futures up by 0.15% and Nasdaq-100 futures climbing 0.12%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were 0.16% higher.
On Wednesday stateside, the S&P 500 dipped 0.74%, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.76% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.63%.
However, the S&P 500 was still locked in a 16.39% gain in 2025.
The Nasdaq Composite rode AI enthusiasm to a 20.36% advance, and the Dow rose 12.97% in 2025, hindered a bit by its lack of tech representation.
—CNBC’s Sean Conlon and Sarah Min contributed to this report.
