Asia-Pacific markets mostly rose on Wednesday as investors digest better-than-expected results from Wall Street.
Overall, the earnings season was off to a strong start. Of the S&P 500 companies that have reported, 84% exceeded profit estimates, according to FactSet.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 popped 1.24% and closed at 32,896.93, while the Topix was up 1.19% to 2,278.97. Business sentiment among manufacturers in Japan declined for the first time in six months in July, according to the Reuters Tankan survey, which measures confidence among large Japanese companies.
South Korea’s Kospi rebounded and rose marginally to 2,608.24, and the Kosdaq was up 1.05% to close at 923.72, its highest level since April 2022.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 rebounded from Tuesday losses and rose 0.55%, ending the day at 7,323.7. Australia will see its unemployment figures out Thursday, seen as critical to the central bank on whether it will continue to hike rates.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index extended its losses after falling over 2% on Tuesday, with the index sliding 0.33% in its final hour of trade.
Mainland Chinese markets ended the day mixed, with the Shanghai Composite up marginally and ending at 3,198.84, but the Shenzhen Component closed 0.37% lower at 10,932,65.
| TICKER | COMPANY | NAME | PRICE | CHANGE | %CHANGE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| .N225 | Nikkei 225 Index | *NIKKEI | 32896.03 | 402.14 | 1.24 |
| .HSI | Hang Seng Index | *HSI | 18952.31 | -63.41 | -0.33 |
| .AXJO | S&P/ASX 200 | *ASX 200 | 7323.7 | 39.9 | 0.55 |
| .SSEC | Shanghai | *SHANGHAI | 3198.84 | 1.02 | 0.03 |
| .KS11 | KOSPI Index | *KOSPI | 2608.24 | 0.62 | 0.02 |
| .FTFCNBCA | CNBC 100 ASIA IDX | *CNBC 100 | 8660.11 | -8.82 | -0.1 |
Overnight in the U.S., all three major indexes climbed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 1.06% and notching its seventh straight day of gains and its longest winning streak since March 2021. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.76%, while the S&P 500 gained 0.71%.
Source : CNBC
