Stocks continued rallies in Asia on Thursday after a positive reading on US consumer confidence boosted Wall Street investors, while the yen extended its recent big gains as Japanese government yields turned into a new higher range.
As of 9.30 A.M. (Thai Time), the Nikkei 225 in Japan rose 0.40%. The Kospi in South Korea traded 0.73% higher.
The S&P/ASX 200 in Australia gained 0.72%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index climbed 2.63%, while the Shanghai Composite in mainland China advanced 0.74%.
Consumer confidence in the United States unexpectedly jumped to an eight-month high in December, as the labor market remained solid. Inflation predictions have fallen to 6.7%, the lowest since September 2021, thanks to lower gas costs.
This contributed to Thursday’s gains for the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 futures markets.
Additionally, investors are still dealing with the impact from the Bank of Japan’s surprise decision to allow JGB rates to climb this week, leading many to anticipate that an outright tightening of policy is just a matter of time.
