On Thursday morning (26 February, 10:23 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), most major indices in the Asia Pacific saw widespread gains, led by advances in technology shares following robust earnings from a major U.S. chipmaker.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 benchmark set another record high at around 59,199.31 as investor confidence in pro-growth economic policies remained strong. The recent gains in Tokyo have been attributed to growing expectations that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s policy agenda will support equity prices through accommodative monetary policy and broader fiscal stimulus.
Meanwhile, the Bank of Korea maintained its policy rate at 2.5% as anticipated by market participants.
Markets also responded positively to stronger-than-expected quarterly results from Nvidia, which helped ease fears of cooling demand in the artificial intelligence sector. The company reported a 75% increase in revenue from its main data center business during its latest fiscal quarter, pushing adjusted earnings per share to $1.62 and total revenue to $68.13 billion—both outpacing market forecasts.
Japan’s NIKKEI rose by 0.47% to 58,856.98. South Korea’s KOSPI soared by 2.10% to 6,211.77, and Australia’s ASX 200 grew by 0.56% to 9,179.60.
As for stocks in China, Shanghai’s SSEC declined by 0.24% to 4,137.11. Hong Kong’s HSI fell by 0.51% to 26,628.69, while Shenzhen’s SZI increased by 0.07% to 14,485.61.
The U.S. stock markets edged up on Wednesday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) gained 0.63% to 49,482.15. NASDAQ jumped by 1.26% to 23,152.07, and S&P 500 advanced by 0.81% to 6,946.13. VIX plummeted by 8.29% to 17.93.
As for commodities, oil prices settled with minimal movement on Wednesday as traders weighed a significant increase in U.S. crude inventories against rising concerns over the security of oil supplies linked to possible military tension between the United States and Iran. Brent crude finished the session higher by 8 cents at $70.85 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude slipped 21 cents to close at $65.42 per barrel.
This morning, Brent crude futures climbed 10 cents, or 0.14%, to $70.95 per barrel, and the WTI expanded 5 cents, or 0.08%, to $65.47 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold futures dropped by 0.46% to $5,202.10 per Troy ounce.
