Asia-Pacific markets saw broad gains on Tuesday, following a positive lead from Wall Street, where investor sentiment improved after US retail sales data helped ease concerns about a potential recession.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index led the region’s advance, rising 2.29% in its final trading hour, driven by strong performances in major tech stocks. Baidu surged 12.11% as of 3:45 p.m. local time, while other Chinese tech giants such as NIO and Li Auto also saw notable gains. The Hang Seng Tech Index climbed 3.28% during the day.
On the mainland, China’s CSI 300 index edged up 0.27% to close at 4,007.72. Meanwhile, Japan’s Nikkei 225 advanced 1.20% to 37,845.42, while the broader Topix index gained 1.29% to 2,783.56. Investors are closely monitoring Japan’s central bank as the Bank of Japan (BOJ) began its two-day monetary policy meeting, with expectations that interest rates will remain steady at 0.5%. The BOJ’s decision will coincide with the US Federal Reserve’s policy meeting, where rates are also anticipated to be unchanged.
In South Korea, the Kospi index ended flat at 2,612.34, while the Kosdaq rose 0.27% to 745.54. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 closed nearly unchanged at 7,860.40, after paring earlier gains. In India, the Nifty 50 added 1.20%, while the BSE Sensex increased 1.07% as of 1:15 p.m. local time.
In the US, all three major indices rebounded following a four-week downturn. The S&P 500 rose 0.64% to 5,675.12, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.31% to 17,808.66. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 353.44 points, or 0.85%, closing at 41,841.63. The market was buoyed by gains in major companies like Walmart and IBM.
