Asia-Pacific markets made notable advances on Thursday, following a record-setting buying surge on Wall Street not seen since 2008. This rally was ignited by U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement of a 90-day halt on increased tariffs for all countries except China.
As of 8:34 BKK time (GMT+7) Japanese markets were at the forefront of this regional upswing, as the Nikkei 225 surged 8.10% and the broader Topix index climbed 7.27%. In South Korea, the Kospi index skyrocketed by 4.85%, with the small-cap Kosdaq gaining 4.86%. Meanwhile, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 saw an early rise of 4.68%.
Attention now turns to Chinese stocks, in light of the U.S.’s decision to impose a substantial 125% tariff on imports from China, which came after Beijing announced an 84% levy on U.S. goods.
Yesterday, the S&P 500 soared 9.52% to finish at 5,456.90, marking its most substantial single-day increase since 2008 and the third-largest since the post-WWII era. The Dow Jones Industrial Average catapulted by 2,962.86 points or 7.87%, closing at 40,608.45, echoing its most significant percentage rise since March 2020. The Nasdaq Composite also made headlines by leaping 12.16% to 17,124.97, recording its largest one-day gain since January 2001 and its second-best day on record.
After the surge on Thursday, U.S. futures are now in negative territory with Dow Jones futures falling slightly by 0.07%, while S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures dropped by 0.49% and 0.89%.
