Asian markets closed with gains at the end of trading on Thursday, October 9, as Chinese markets rose to their highest levels since 2022 in the first trading session after eight days of celebrations marking the anniversary of the National Day and the founding of New China. Japanese indices also reached record highs, supported by the performance of the technology sector following the SoftBank deal.
US President Donald Trump’s statements that Hamas and the Israeli government had agreed to the first phase of the peace plan supported risk appetite in markets, as fears of an escalating conflict in the Middle East receded.
Japanese markets, in turn, received support from reports indicating that the leader of the ruling party and candidate for prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, may support more flexible fiscal and monetary policies, following her surprise victory at the beginning of the week. Sanae is considered a supporter of stimulus policies and a yield curve for government bonds, and her reluctance to tighten monetary policy and raise interest rates explains the continued decline of the Japanese yen and the rise in stocks.
The Nikkei index closed the session at 48,580 points, marking a new record high above the 48,000 level, with a gain of 1.77%, or 845 points. Meanwhile, the Topix index of the Tokyo Stock Exchange rose by approximately 0.68% today, closing at 3,257 points, marking a new record high for the fourth consecutive session. Panasonic Holding and Yaskawa Electric led the Nikkei’s gains, rising more than 6%.
SoftBank shares led the Nikkei’s gains, rising more than 11% at the close after the Japanese giant announced its $5.4 billion acquisition of the robotics division of Swiss engineering company ABB, strengthening SoftBank’s presence in the field of artificial intelligence. Chinese indices posted gains in their opening session today after a long holiday. The broader Chinese CSI300 index rose by approximately 1.48% to close at 4,709 points, while the Shanghai Composite Index closed 1.32% higher at 3,933 points.
The Hang Seng Index, the main index of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, fell by approximately 0.25% today, closing at 26.762 points. Sino Biopharmaceutical led the declines, falling by more than 7%.
India’s Sensex index rose by approximately 0.28% before closing at 82,000 points, while the Nifty 50 index rose by approximately 0.34% to trade at 25,132 points. New Zealand stock markets closed with gains today, with the NZX50 index rising 0.018% to close at 13,570 points, while Australia’s ASX200 index rose 0.25% to close at 8,969 points. Singapore’s main index fell 0.32% in pre-market trading.