Asia-Pacific markets mostly close higher
Asia-Pacific markets mostly ended the day higher Thursday.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closed flat at 24,498.95, while mainland China’s CSI 300 index increased by 0.68% to 4,034.49.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 benchmark added 0.6% to close at 39,901.19, while the broader Topix index rose 0.72% to 2,839.81.
Meanwhile, South Korea’s Kospi index moved up 0.19% to close at 3,192.29, while the small-cap Kosdaq advanced 0.74% to 818.27.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 benchmark ended the day 0.9% higher at 8,639.
Over in India, the 50-stock benchmark Nifty 50 was down 0.12%, while the Sensex index lost 0.25% as of 1.55 p.m. Indian Standard Time (4.25 a.m. ET).
— Amala Balakrishner
Indian stocks open flat
Indian stocks were little changed in early trade Thursday, with both the 50-stock benchmark Nifty 50 Sensex index trading flat as of 10 a.m. Indian Standard time (12.30 a.m. ET).
Nifty 50 Index
SK Hynix shares plunge over 8% on profit-taking concerns
Shares of SK Hynix plunged as much as 8.78% Thursday on concerns of its profit-taking against the backdrop of a weakening outlook for memory semiconductor prices.
Goldman Sachs reportedly downgraded the stock to a neutral rating, noting that SK Hynix’s “operating profit for 2026 is expected to decrease compared to this year.”
“Considering the performance risks, it is shifting to a conservative stance as the stock price has already risen significantly,” the bank’s analysts added in a Thursday note.
— Amala Balakrishner
Australia unemployment rate rises to 43-month high
Australia’s unemployment rate rose to 4.3% on a seasonally adjusted basis in June, surpassing the 4.1% increase anticipated by economists polled by Reuters.
The reading was also the highest since November 2021, according to LSEG data.
Meanwhile, net employment rose by 2,000 in June, from a revised decline of 1,100 the month before, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Thursday showed.
That latest reading still missed market forecasts of a 20,000 increase, according to Reuters poll data.
— Amala Balakrishner
Singapore stocks extend rally to hit fresh all-time highs
Singapore’s 30-stock benchmark Straits Times Index extended its winning run for a ninth consecutive day, hitting a fresh all-time high of 4,154.13 earlier in the session.
Straits Times Index
Chinese and Hong Kong stocks rise in early trade
Chinese and Hong Kong-listed stocks started the day higher Thursday amid choppy trading in other key Asia-Pacific markets.
As of 9.40 a.m. local time (9.40 p.m. ET Wednesday), the Hang Seng Index added 0.26%, while mainland’s CSI 300 moved up 0.16%.
— Amala Balakrishner
Shares in Seven & i plunge over 9% in early trade
Singapore’s non-oil domestic exports surprise with jump to 11-month high in June
Singapore’s non-oil domestic exports surged 13% in June compared to the same period last year, surpassing the 5% growth forecast by economists polled by Reuters.
The latest reading also surpassed the revised 3.9% decline in the previous month, government data showed Thursday.
This is the sharpest increase since July 2024, according to LSEG data. It comes on the back of higher shipments of electronic products, non-monetary gold and specialized machinery.
On a month-on-month basis, Singapore’s NODX surged 14.3% in June, compared to a 12% decline seen in May.
– Amala Balakrishner
Asia-Pacific markets start the day mixed
Asia-Pacific markets opened mixed Wednesday.
As of 8.11 a.m. Singapore time (8.11 p.m. ET), Japan’s Nikkei 225 benchmark fell 0.6% while the broader Topix index ticked down 0.11%.
In South Korea, the Kospi index dropped 0.26% while the small-cap Kosdaq was flat.
Over in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 benchmark added 0.35%.
— Amala Balakrishner
Japan’s exports fall for second straight month with no U.S. trade deal in sight, raising recession fears
Japan’s exports in June contracted 0.5% year over year, extending the 1.7% drop seen in May as deliveries continued to decline for the second straight month.
The decrease in exports was a reversal of the 0.5% rise expected by economists polled by Reuters, and comes amid a lack of a breakthrough in trade talks with the U.S.
Exports to China, Japan’s largest trading partner, were down 4.7%, while exports to the U.S. declined by 11.4% year over year, deepening from the 11% fall in May.
Read the full story, here.
—Lim Hui Jie
Trading in Japan’s Seven & i halted after Couche-Tard withdraws $47 billion bid to acquire the retailer
Here are the opening calls for the day
Good morning from Singapore.
Investors will be keeping a close watch on a slew of data points from the Asia-Pacific region today, including Japan’s trade figures, Singapore’s non-oil domestic exports numbers as well as Australia’s employment print for the month of June.
Economists polled by Reuters expect Japan’s trade balance to come in at 353.9 billion yen ($2.39 billion) surplus, better than the revised 638.6 billion yen deficit it recorded in May.
Meanwhile, separate polls by Reuters showed that Singapore’s non-oil domestic exports were forecast to grow 5% year on year in June, from a contraction of 3.5% in May.
Australia’s unemployment rate was expected to hold steady at 4.1% in June.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 was set to open lower, with the futures contract in Chicago at 39,545 while its counterpart in Osaka last traded at 39,540, against the index’s Wednesday close of 39,663.40.
Futures for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index stood at 24,576, pointing to a stronger open compared to the HSI’s last close of 24,517.76.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was also set to start the day higher with futures tied to the benchmark at 8,588, compared with its last close of 8,561.80.
— Amala Balakrishner
U.S. futures slip following rally on Trump’s denial that he plans to fire Powell
Stocks end Wednesday in the green
Wednesday saw a volatile trading session that ended with a major rebound in U.S. equities.
The S&P 500 added 0.32% to close at 6,263.70. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 231.49 points, or 0.53%, ending at 44,254.78. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.26% to settle the session at 20,730.49, notching its ninth record close.
— Pia Singh
