BANGKOK (AP) – Asian stocks opened sharply higher on Thursday following a rebound on Wall Street, as South Korea’s Kospi recouped much of the previous day’s historic losses.
However, U.S. futures fell, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping 0.3% and the S&P 500 index down 0.1%.
In Seoul, the Kospi rose 10.1% to 5,607.71 as the government announced emergency economic measures. The Kospi recorded its biggest single-day decline on record on Wednesday. But it has recently soared to record highs, with traders locking in their profits due to the war with Iran.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index rose 2.8% to 55,793.74 after showing some early gains.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.1% to 8,913.10, while New Zealand’s index rose 0.5%.
Taiwan’s main stock index rose 2.2%.
Financial markets have been roiling this week due to uncertainty surrounding the war in the Middle East, with much of the cue being taken from trends in oil prices.
U.S. stocks rallied on Wednesday after oil prices stopped rising and investors provided an encouraging update on the U.S. economy.
However, oil prices resumed rising early Thursday.
Brent crude oil, the international standard crude oil, rose 2.6% to $83.51 per barrel. Benchmark U.S. crude oil rose 3.2% to $77.01 per barrel.
The S&P 500 rose 0.8% to 6,869.50 on Wednesday, erasing much of its losses since the war with Iran began. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5% to $48,739.41, and the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 1.3% to $22,807.48.
Signs of strength in the U.S. economy also boosted stock prices.
A report said growth of U.S. companies in real estate, finance and other services industries accelerated last month at the fastest pace since summer 2022. He also said the rate of price growth for these companies has slowed, at least before the war with Iran, as a driver of inflation.
A second report suggested that non-government U.S. employers resumed hiring last month. This could be a sign of hope for a more comprehensive report on the overall job market to be released by the U.S. government on Friday.
Investors are concerned about how long the war with Iran will last, how high inflation will rise due to soaring oil prices, and how much damage it will cause to corporate profits.
Markets have a history of avoiding military conflicts in the Middle East relatively quickly, but that requires caution to avoid oil prices rising too high. For this reason, some professional investors are suggesting that they endure volatility, at least when it comes to financial markets.
Not everyone is optimistic.
“I think the situation in Iran is getting out of hand. I think President Donald Trump has made a huge miscalculation,” said Francis Lung, CEO of VentureSmart Asia. “The situation is very difficult.”
On Wall Street, a variety of companies fueled Wednesday’s gains.
As the price of Bitcoin rebounded above $73,000, stocks related to the cryptocurrency industry rose. Coinbase Global rose 14.6% and Robinhood Markets rose 8.1%.
Retailers and travel companies raised hopes that a strong economy and easing of soaring gas prices could encourage customers to spend more.
But the biggest pushers were big tech stocks. Amazon rose 3.9% and Nvidia rose 1.7%. These are among the largest stocks in the US market in terms of total value, so their movements have a large impact on the S&P 500.
Wednesday’s positive economic report was welcome news for the United States. federal reserve systemtheir job is to keep the U.S. job market healthy and inflation low. The Fed’s job is made even more difficult as high oil prices push up already high inflation.
In other trade early Thursday, the U.S. dollar fell against the Japanese yen to 156.77 yen from 156.79 yen. The euro fell from $1.1632 to $1.1626.
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AP writers Matt Ott, Kim Tong-hyun and Stan Cho contributed.
