Tokyo: Asian shares mostly rose on Thursday as investors awaited the release of US consumer price data and kept a cautious watch on the war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 jumped 1.6 per cent to 32,442.08. Sydney’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.1 per cent to 7,097.50. South Korea’s Kospi added one per cent to 2,474.32. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng surged 1.9 per cent to 18,228.96, while the Shanghai Composite rose 0.7 per cent to 3,099.21.
“Recent remarks from FOMC members have leaned Dovish, suggesting that the Fed might maintain current short-term rates,” Anderson Alves at ActivTrades said in a report, referring to the US Federal Reserve’s action on interest rates. Tensions in the Middle East are under the spotlight, with a possible escalation if nations like Lebanon or Iran are drawn in, which would set off significant movement in US Treasuries, he said.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 rose 0.4 per cent to 4,376.95 for its fourth straight gain. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.2 per cent to 33,804.87, and the Nasdaq composite gained 0.7 per cent to 13,659.68.
