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Asian stocks rallied Thursday as easing pressure in U.S. bond markets and renewed strength in semiconductor shares lifted major regional indexes, with South Korea’s KOSPI and Japan’s Nikkei leading gains.
Investor sentiment improved after the U.S. Treasury announced plans to at least double buybacks of longer-dated government debt to $4 billion or more per operation beginning in September. The decision followed a sharp bond selloff that recently pushed the 30-year Treasury yield to its highest level since 2007.
The announcement helped the 30-year yield ease to around 5.18%, while the 10-year Treasury yield slipped to approximately 4.63%. U.S. stock futures also advanced, with Nasdaq 100 Futures rising about 0.4% and S&P 500 Futures gaining 0.1%. The MSCI Asia Pacific index climbed roughly 1.4%.
South Korea’s KOSPI surged more than 6%, recovering from the previous session’s semiconductor-driven rout. SK Hynix jumped over 13% after announcing a 40 trillion won ($28.6 billion) share buyback and cancellation program. Samsung Electronics gained around 9% amid reports of a potential shareholder-return plan exceeding 100 trillion won.
Japanese stocks also strengthened, with the Nikkei 225 gaining about 1.1% and TOPIX rising 0.8%. Kioxia Holdings and Sony advanced, while Honda and Toyota climbed following progress toward lower U.S. tariffs on Canadian-made vehicles.
Chinese markets posted moderate gains as technology stocks rebounded. The CSI 300 rose 0.2%, the Shanghai Composite added 0.3%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng climbed 1.1%. Alibaba, Xiaomi, Baidu, JD.com and Tencent all traded higher.
Australia’s ASX 200 edged up 0.2% even as unemployment increased to 4.5% in July and employment fell by 16,000. India’s Nifty 50 and Indonesia’s Jakarta Composite also advanced, while Singapore stocks declined.
Meanwhile, Brent crude remained near $92 per barrel as geopolitical tensions involving Iran and uncertainty surrounding the Strait of Hormuz continued supporting oil prices.
