Asian shares were mostly higher on Thursday, with benchmark indexes in Japan and South Korea hitting fresh record levels, even after Wall Street wavered overnight following a stronger-than-expected US jobs report.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 pushed above the 58,000 level early in the session as trading resumed after a holiday. By midday, the index was up 0.2% at 57,748.81.
Japanese equities have rallied in recent days after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s landslide victory in Sunday’s parliamentary election, with investors anticipating further pro-growth economic policies.
South Korea’s Kospi also reached new highs, breaching the 5,500 mark during Thursday’s trading session, supported by strong gains in technology shares. The index was up 2.5% at 5,485.71.
Samsung, the country’s largest listed company, climbed 5.9%, while chipmaker SK Hynix rose 3.3%.
Elsewhere in the region, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 0.9% to 27,024.06, while China’s Shanghai Composite edged 0.1% higher to 4,137.06.
Australian stocks also advanced, with the S&P/ASX 200 up 0.3% at 9,037.60.
Overnight in the US, Wall Street closed mostly lower after January employment data came in well above expectations, prompting traders to reduce bets on interest rate cuts.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.1% after three straight record closes, the S&P 500 ended flat, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.2%.
The Labor Department reported that US employers added 130,000 jobs in January, significantly exceeding economists’ forecasts.
