New Delhi, 24 April (H.S.): Asian markets saw gains on Thursday, propelled by positive trends from Wall Street, as investor sentiment improved with hopes for easing U.S.-China trade tensions. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose over 1%, extending its previous day’s rally, while the Topix increased by 0.81%. South Korea’s Kospi remained stable, but the Kosdaq, which focuses on smaller companies, edged up 0.34%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 climbed by 0.27%. Futures for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index showed little movement, hovering around 22,069.
In South Korea, preliminary data indicated a 0.1% contraction in GDP for the first quarter of 2025, falling below the anticipated 0.1% growth according to a Reuters poll. On the U.S. side, Wall Street closed higher on Wednesday, driven by renewed optimism over the potential resolution in the U.S.-China trade conflict. President Donald Trump’s comments about not planning to dismiss Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell also calmed fears regarding the Fed’s independence.
Despite a slight dip in some index futures at the day’s end, optimism lingered after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent noted that current tariffs between the two countries are unsustainable, and Trump expressed a desire to reduce trade tensions. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 419.59 points (1.07%) to close at 39,606.57, while the S&P 500 increased by 1.67% to 5,375.86, and the Nasdaq Composite surged by 2.50% to 16,708.05, marking consecutive gains for all three indexes.
Gold prices rebounded on Thursday morning due to favorable global conditions, a weaker dollar, and healthy spot demand.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
