FX.co ★ Asian Shares Mixed In Lackluster Trade

Asian markets on Thursday displayed a mixed performance, as investors assessed the political turbulence in France and South Korea and considered remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, suggesting an upcoming rate cut by the U.S. central bank later this month.

Chinese equities ended positively, boosted by anticipation of insights from an impending annual policy meeting which may introduce new economic stimulus measures. The Shanghai Composite index modestly increased by 0.12%, closing at 3,368.86. Meanwhile, the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong decreased by 0.92%, settling at 19,560.44.

In Japan, stocks saw a moderate rise, marking the fourth consecutive day of gains, as technology stocks mirrored the upward trend of their U.S. counterparts. The Nikkei managed a 0.30% gain, ending at 339,395.60 after giving up some early gains. The Topix index posted a slight increase, closing at 2,742.24. Notably, Advantest surged by 3.4% and SoftBank Group rose by 1.2%.

The Japanese yen strengthened slightly in light of potential interest rate hikes from the Bank of Japan this month.

Conversely, Seoul's stock market continued its decline from the previous day, influenced by opposition parties' efforts to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol following a brief declaration of martial law that shocked the country. The Kospi index fell by 0.90%, closing at 2,441.85. Hyundai Motor and LG Energy Solution both experienced declines of around 2%, while Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix saw gains of 1.1% and 3%, respectively.

In Australia, markets experienced an uptick, spearheaded by gains in gold mining and technology sectors. The S&P/ASX 200 crawled upward by 0.15% to close at 8,474.90, with the broader All Ordinaries index rising by 0.18% to 8,744.50. Across the Tasman, New Zealand's S&P/NZX-50 index concluded slightly higher at 12,896.95.

U.S. equity markets improved overnight, reaching new record levels after two days of mixed results. The technology-focused Nasdaq Composite surged by 1.3%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 0.7%, and the S&P 500 edged higher by 0.6%. These gains followed strong performances from Salesforce and Marvell Technology and reassuring comments from Jerome Powell on economic growth and inflation prospects.

Lower-than-anticipated data on private sector employment and service sector activity further fueled optimism regarding future interest rate trends.