Asian stocks mostly advanced on Thursday, bolstered by a strong performance in the technology sector following a rally on Wall Street. However, gains were tempered after the Federal Reserve revised its outlook for interest rate cuts, indicating only one cut may occur this year. Japanese stocks underperformed as investors awaited a Bank of Japan meeting expected to signal further tightening measures.
Markets across the region took cues from Wall Street, where record highs were set by the S&P 500 and NASDAQ Composite, driven by a surge in technology stocks fueled by advancements in artificial intelligence. The positive sentiment was also supported by a softer-than-expected consumer price index reading.
Tech stocks led the gains in South Korea's KOSPI and Hong Kong's Hang Seng, mirroring the performance of U.S. counterparts like Apple Inc., which saw its shares rise sharply on plans to integrate AI into its products and a partnership with OpenAI. This boost extended to Asian suppliers such as TSMC and Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd.
Elsewhere, Australia's ASX 200 edged higher despite trimming some gains after strong employment data for May raised expectations that the Reserve Bank might maintain higher interest rates. Chinese markets, however, lagged amid concerns over increased U.S. scrutiny on trade, with the Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 and Shanghai Composite indexes slipping.
Looking ahead, futures indicated a positive start for India's Nifty 50 index, remaining near record levels amid overall optimism in Asian markets.
Paraphrasing text from "Investing" all rights reserved by the original author.
