Precise Investors Editorial Team
Broader Asian markets were mostly buoyed by tech, although declines in other, economically sensitive sectors reduced overall gains
Most Asian stocks rose on Thursday, buoyed chiefly by gains in technology shares as persistent optimism over artificial intelligence drove buying into chipmaking and related stocks.
Mainland Chinese markets rose in catch-up trade after a week-long holiday.
Hong Kong markets, however, lagged on steep losses in health technology stocks. HSBC was also a major weight on the Hang Seng after it proposed to privatize its unit Hang Seng Bank.
Japanese markets resumed their outperformance on Thursday, with the Nikkei 225 and TOPIX indexes gaining 1.3% and 0.4%, respectively. Both indexes were headed for record-high closes at current levels.
Tech shares were a major boost to the Nikkei, with SoftBank Group Corp. rallying over 11% to a record high after it agreed to buy the robotics arm of Swiss engineering group ABB Ltd for around $5.4 billion.
Japanese industrials– including Yaskawa Electric Corp., Ebara Corp., and Fuji Electric Co., Ltd.– rose sharply, resuming their climb on hopes of more government spending under Sanae Takaichi as prime minister.
Growing conviction that the Bank of Japan will not hike interest rates soon also aided Japanese stocks, although a pause in the yen’s losses pressured exporters.
In China, Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 and Shanghai Composite indexes added 1.3% and 0.8%, respectively, as trade resumed after the Golden Week holiday.
Gains in tech and industrial stocks supported mainland markets.
Hong Kong stocks were laggards, with the Hang Seng trading down 0.4% after dropping 1%.
Alibaba Health Information Technology Ltd and JD Health International dropped 3.6% and 4.7%, respectively, and were among the worst performers on the Hang Seng. Sino Biopharmaceutical Ltd and Hansoh Pharmaceutical Group Co Ltd dipped 8.1% and 6.8%, respectively.
HSBC was the worst performer on the Hang Seng, slipping more than 6% after it proposed taking its unit – Hang Seng Bank – private in a HK$106 billion (US$13.62 billion) deal.
Hang Seng Bank surged 40% and was the top performer in Hong Kong.
Broader Asian markets were mostly buoyed by tech, although declines in other, economically sensitive sectors reduced overall gains.
Taiwan Weighted soared to a new record high, while ASX 200 gained 0.2%.
Straits Times index dropped 0.4%, while futures for India’s Nifty 50 index pointed to a positive open.
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