Seoul, South Korea – Markets in the Asia-Pacific region showed a mix of results on Thursday, following gains on Wall Street fueled by optimism over a potential resolution in the U.S.-China trade war.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index saw a rise of over 1%, building on the previous day’s positive performance. The Topix index also experienced a gain of 0.81%. On the other hand, South Korea’s Kospi index slipped by 0.47%, with the Kosdaq small-cap index also dropping 0.15%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index recorded a 0.56% increase, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index decreased by 0.29%. Mainland China’s CSI 300 index remained relatively flat during the trading session.
South Korea’s GDP contracted by 0.1% in the first quarter of 2025, according to early data released on Thursday. This figure missed the 0.1% expansion that analysts had expected, based on a Reuters poll.
In the United States, futures trading showed a lackluster performance after consecutive days of gains on Wall Street. The S&P 500 futures were up by 0.1%, the Nasdaq 100 futures traded nearly 0.1% higher, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures lost 0.1%.
The positive momentum on Wall Street was driven by hopes of a potential easing of trade tensions between the U.S. and China. Additionally, President Donald Trump indicated that he does not intend to remove Jerome Powell from his position as Federal Reserve Chair.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 1.07% to close at 39,606.57 points. The S&P 500 index climbed by 1.67% to end at 5,375.86 points, while the Nasdaq Composite index rallied by 2.50% to settle at 16,708.05 points. These gains marked the second consecutive day of positivity across all three major indexes.