Asian markets trade mostly higher in early deals on Thursday

Asian markets traded mostly higher in early deals on Thursday, kindled by a surge in technology and semiconductor stocks following cooler US inflation data that eased fears of upcoming Federal Reserve interest rate hikes. South Korea’s KOSPI skyrocketed to its highest level in almost three weeks. South Korean government plans to ease regulations for semiconductor and artificial intelligence megaprojects are projected to unlock KRW 4.2 trillion in new investments.

Nikkei soared by 1,238.94 points or 1.83% to 68,763.00, Hang Seng rose by 16.83 points or 0.07% to 25,457.00, KOSPI Index surged by 248.45 points or 3.78% to 6,827.49, Taiwan weighted lifted by 474.89 points or 1.04% to 45,992.96, and Shanghai Composite kindled by 16.47 points or 0.42% to 3,963.15.

On the flip side, Straits Times down by 26.02 points or 0.45% to 5,694.73, Jakarta Composite lower by 70.66 points or 1.11% to 6,303.19, and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI index dipped by 6.58 points or 0.38% to 1,735.03.