Asian markets opened higher, following a global rally that pushed world indexes to new records, despite the US entering its first government shutdown in nearly seven years. Japan, South Korea, and Australia all traded in positive territory, with the chip and technology sectors providing key support. In Seoul, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix surged after signing initial supply deals for OpenAI's "Stargate" project. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 rose 0.3% and the Nasdaq 100 added 0.5%, helping lift the MSCI global benchmark index to a new high. In the bond market, Treasuries maintained...
Hong Kong's stock market rebounded after a one-day hiatus. Signs of stabilization in the property sector and gains in technology stocks boosted positive sentiment. As of 9:55 a.m. local time, the Hang Seng Index rose 1.3% to 27,191.99, and Hang Seng Tech rose 2.2%. Tech stocks led the way: Kuaishou surged 8%, Baidu and Alibaba both rose 3.7%, JD.com rose 2.5%, Tencent added 2.1%, Meituan 1.8%, and Xiaomi 1.9% after reporting deliveries of over 40,000 cars in September. Meanwhile, Trip.com fell 1.9%, Pop Mart 1.5%, Li Auto 0.7%, and Anta Sports 1.2%. Mainland Chinese markets were closed...
The Nikkei 225 Index climbed 0.87% to close at 44,937 on Thursday, snapping a four-day losing streak and tracking strong gains on Wall Street, with chip-related stocks driving the rebound. Despite concerns over the US government shutdown, equities were supported by robust capital spending and expectations of further Federal Reserve rate cuts. Regional sentiment also improved after OpenAI struck a deal with South Korea's Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix to supply memory chips, reinforcing optimism around artificial intelligence. Among the standouts, chipmaking equipment maker Tokyo...