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Shares surged in Asia on Thursday following the recovery of Wall Street stocks, which regained much of their sharp losses from the previous day.
While oil prices experienced a decline, benchmarks in most major markets posted gains, except Seoul, as mainland Chinese markets remained closed for the Lunar New Year holiday.
Regional Market Performance
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index gained 0.7%, reaching 37,948.35, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index edged 0.1% higher to 15,893.16.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.6% to 7,595.30, while South Korea's Kospi experienced a slight decline, edging 0.1% lower to 2,619.31. India's Sensex rose 0.4%, and Taiwan's Taiex saw a notable jump of 2.8%. The SET index in Bangkok remained relatively unchanged.
On Wednesday, the S&P 500 climbed 1% to 5,000.62, recovering more than two-thirds of its previous day's losses.
Investor sentiment was buoyed by a hotter-than-expected report on inflation, leading to a shift in forecasts for potential Federal Reserve interest rate cuts. This shift in expectations and calmness in the bond market contributed to steadier trading on Wall Street.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.4%, reaching 38,424.27, while the Nasdaq composite jumped 1.3% to 15,859.15. Small-cap stocks rebounded strongly, with the Russell 2000 index surging 2.4%.
Other Market Movements
Nvidia, a key player in artificial intelligence technology, saw a rise of 2.5% on Wednesday, exerting a significant favorable influence on the S&P 500 index.
According to AP News, however, online vacation rental booker Airbnb experienced a slight decline of 1.7% after reporting a fourth-quarter loss of $349 million due to an income tax settlement with Italy.
According to Bloomberg, U.S. benchmark crude oil in commodities trading fell 30 cents to $76.34 per barrel, while Brent crude, the international standard, lost 27 cents to $81.33 per barrel. Additionally, the U.S. dollar slipped to 150.24 Japanese yen from 150.46 yen, while the euro rose slightly to $1.0733 from $1.0731.
Photo: Joshua Mayo/Unsplash
