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The skyline of Tokyo, featuring the iconic Skytree visible from the neighborhoods of Ueno and Asakusa, offers a stunning backdrop to the city’s bustling financial activity. This vibrant scene is captured in a photograph by Jackal Pan, showcasing the dynamic energy of Japan’s capital.
On Thursday, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region saw a largely positive trend, buoyed by the news that U.S. President Donald Trump had signed a funding bill into law. This legislation signaled the end of the longest federal government shutdown in American history, providing a sigh of relief to global markets.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index experienced an uptick, closing 0.43% higher at 51,281.83. Meanwhile, the broader Topix index gained 0.67%, ending the session at 3,381.72, after briefly reaching a record high of 3,389.12 earlier. Despite the overall market gains, shares of SoftBank Group fell sharply for the second day in a row, dropping 3.38%. This decline followed the company’s announcement that it had sold its entire $5.8 billion stake in Nvidia back in October to bolster its investment in OpenAI.
Elsewhere in the region, South Korea’s Kospi index rose by 0.49% amid volatile trading, concluding the day at 4,170.63. The smaller Kosdaq index saw a more pronounced increase, climbing 1.31% to close at 918.37.
Shares of SoftBank Group continued to fall for a second consecutive day, plunging 3.38%, after the Japanese giant said Tuesday it sold its entire $5.8 billion stake in Nvidia in October, to fund its OpenAI bet.
South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.49% in volatile trading to settle at 4,170.63, while the small-cap Kosdaq climbed 1.31% to 918.37.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 pared losses to 0.52% at 8,753.4 after the seasonally adjusted October unemployment rate eased to 4.3%, government jobs data showed Thursday. The latest reading was better than the 4.4% figure expected by Reuters-polled economists and compared with 4.5% in September.
The better-than-expected decline in October lowers expectations for a rate cut. The Australian dollar rose to 0.6556 against the greenback.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index added 0.56%, while the mainland’s CSI 300 advanced 1.21%.
India’s Nifty 50 climbed 0.47%.
U.S. equity futures ticked lower in early Asian hours after a continued market rotation powered the Dow Jones Industrial Average to record its first close above 48,000 Wednesday stateside.
Overnight, the 30-stock Dow closed up 326.86 points, or 0.68%, at 48,254.82. The index also hit a fresh all-time intraday high in the session. The S&P 500 traded around the flatline, settling up 0.06% at 6,850.92, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.26% to finish at 23,406.46.
— CNBC’s Sean Conlon and Pia Singh contributed to this report.
Correction: This article was updated to accurately reflect the opening hours of South Korean markets.
