Asian stocks saw gains on Thursday, following the rise on Wall Street. South Korea’s Kospi index jumped over 6%. U.S. futures showed a slight increase after the U.S. Treasury announced a significant expansion in planned purchases of longer-term government bonds. This move is expected to relieve pressure in the stock market as increased bond purchases elevate bond prices, thereby reducing yields.
The Kospi surged by 6.1% to reach 6,858.91, rebounding after a 5.8% fall on Wednesday due to a sell-off in AI-linked shares. Samsung Electronics saw a significant rise of 9.7%, and SK Hynix’s shares rose 14.1% following the company’s announcement of a major share buyback plan.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 1.3% to settle at 66,178.26, recovering from declines seen earlier in the week. Japan disclosed a trade deficit for the third consecutive month in July, with imports and exports hitting record levels. Shares of SoftBank Group, a key investor in OpenAI, increased by 3.8%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index added 1.1%, reaching 25,786.32, while the Shanghai Composite index increased by 0.3% to 3,905.23. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose by 0.3% to 9,066.40. Taiwan’s Taiex remained mostly static, and India’s Sensex climbed by 0.7%.
Following the U.S. Treasury’s announcement, U.S. bond yields decreased as bond prices rose. Pressure from rising yields is easing, calming investor concerns about inflation linked to the ongoing conflict in Iran and escalating government debt issues. The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield fell to roughly 4.64% from 4.71% on the previous day, though it remains higher than pre-war levels.
Similarly, the 30-year Treasury yield decreased to 5.18% on Thursday, down from 5.28% earlier in the week. In Japan, the 10-year government bond yield dropped to about 2.83% from over 2.89%, relieving recent pressures associated with near 30-year high trading levels.
Oil prices rose modestly as there was minimal progress in the U.S.-Iran conflict negotiations. Brent crude increased by 0.3% to $91.90 a barrel, compared to about $72 before the conflict. The U.S. benchmark crude went up by 0.2% to $84.57 a barrel.
The U.S. dollar strengthened to 158.60 Japanese yen, up from 158.16 yen. The euro slightly decreased to $1.1676 from $1.1677.
Contributions to this report were made by AP Business Writer Stan Choe.