Asian Shares Rally following Wall Street Rebounds Overnight, Leads by Hong Kong’s Tech Sector

Friday saw a rally in Asian markets after Wall Street rebounded overnight, as investors traded cautiously on the final day of the year.

As of 9.25 a.m. (Thai time), Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was up 0.98%, with technology stocks leading the region’s gains and carrying over the sentiment from the previous session. The Shanghai Composite rose 0.62% in mainland China.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 climbed 0.48%. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.25%, while the Japanese yen strengthened slightly to last stand at 132.42 per US dollar.

Seoul’s stock exchanges are closed for the New Year’s holiday and will reopen on January 2.

Overnight in the United States, unemployment claims increased last week, according to the Labor Department, a higher result than the Dow Jones forecast. As investors enter the final trading days of 2022, Wall Street’s major indexes are still on track for their worst year since 2008.