Asian equity markets ended mostly higher on Thursday, with financials and material stocks leading gainers, after a rally on Wall Street overnight lifted the Dow Jones Industrial Average above the 21,000 mark for the first time ever. US President Donald Trump's much-anticipated debut address to Congress on Tuesday night offered little policy details on his stimulus plans, but investors were relieved by the President's more measured than expected tone and his apparent desire to pass an immigration reform bill that would give some illegal immigrants legal status. Meanwhile, Japan's Nikkei share average hit a 14-month peak as the yen weakened against the dollar on heightened expectations for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates this month and after Wall Street soared to record highs. Though, Chinese shares ended lower after a string of hawkish remarks from Federal Reserve officials stirred concerns that an interest rate hike in the US could trigger fresh capital outflows and hurt domestic liquidity.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 3,230.03 | -16.91 | -0.52 |
Hang Seng | 23,728.07 | -48.42 | -0.20 |
Jakarta Composite | 5,408.25 | 45.20 | 0.84 |
KLSE Composite | 1,715.67 | 17.98 | 1.06 |
Nikkei 225 | 19,564.80 | 171.26 | 0.88 |
Straits Times | 3,136.48 | 13.71 | 0.44 |
KOSPI Composite | 2,102.65 | 11.01 | 0.53 |
Taiwan Weighted | 9,691.80 | 17.02 | 0.18 |