Asia-Pacific markets close mostly higher, tracking tech rally on Wall Street

Asia-Pacific markets mostly closed higher Thursday following a tech rally overnight on Wall Street that lifted the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite, even as growing fears around the economy weighed on equities.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 closed 1.53% higher at 42,580.27, as domestic tech stocks gained, led by SoftBank Group, which advanced over 6%. Shares of Fujikura, a circuitry and optical cable maker, and Nvidia supplier Advantest rose 6.04% and 4.63%, respectively.

Earlier in the session, shares of Kyoto-based Nidec Corp plunged as much as 22.44%, after the company announced a probe into allegations of improper accounting in its group.

The broader Topix index increased 1.03% to close at 3,080.17.

Over in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 benchmark climbed 1% to 8,826.5. The country’s household spending in July rose 0.5% month on month, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Thursday. This compares to a gain of 0.3% in June. On a yearly basis, household spending growth rose 5.1% in July, the fastest pace since November 2023.

The growth was boosted by demand for the health, transport, miscellaneous goods and services sectors.

Meanwhile, South Korea’s Kospi index closed 0.52% higher at 3,200.83, and the small-cap Kosdaq added 1.08% to 805.42.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index pared earlier gains to end the trading session 1.12% lower, closing at 25,058.51, while the mainland’s CSI 300 retreated 2.12% in volatile trading at 4,365.21.

India’s benchmark Nifty 50 rose 0.27%, and the Sensex index was 0.39% higher as of 2:01 p.m. India Standard Time (4:31 a.m. EST).

Global bond markets will continue to be in focus with long-dated borrowing costs around the world under pressure. The U.S. 30-year Treasury yield nudged above 5% on Wednesday morning for the first time since July after a court ruled that most of the Trump administration’s tariffs are illegal, raising questions over the future of tariff revenues.

Japan’s 30-year bond yield was at a record high on Wednesday, with a 100 basis point rise this year driven by high inflation, low real rates and political uncertainty.

Overnight stateside, the three major averages closed mixed. The S&P 500 rose Wednesday, boosted by tech shares after a federal court decision in an Alphabet antitrust case fueled optimism that the tech giants would be able to weather regulatory threats.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 1.03% to end the day at 21,497.73, while the S&P 500 climbed 0.51% to finish at 6,448.26. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lagged, falling 24.58 points, or 0.05%, to settle at 45,271.23.

— CNBC’s Jenni Reid, Sean Conlon and Pia Singh contributed to this report.