People pose for photos in front of Christmas lights in downtown Seoul on December 22, 2023.
Jung Yeon-je | AFP | Getty Images
Major U.S. benchmarks rose overnight, driven by gains in technology stocks, and Asia-Pacific markets opened higher ahead of Christmas Eve.
Japanese Nikkei 225 Index The Topix opened almost flat as investors awaited minutes from the Bank of Japan’s October meeting.
Korean Cospi rose 0.31%, and the Kosdaq rose 0.72%.
South Korean consumer confidence fell to its lowest level in more than two years. of the country consumer confidence index A survey released by the Bank of Korea showed that the poll index in December fell by more than 12 percentage points from November to 88.4, falling below the 100-point mark between optimism and pessimism.
Hong Kong Hang Seng Index futures were at 19,924 points, higher than the Hang Seng Index’s last closing point of 19,883.13 points.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 traded slightly near its flat line in the shortened session.
Traders will be watching for any developments related to the planned merger of Japanese carmakers Nissan and Honda. Discussions will end in June 2025.
U.S. stocks rose overnight, with gains in technology stocks lifting the broader market.
The S&P 500 rose 0.73% to 5,974.07 points. The Nasdaq index, which is dominated by technology stocks, rose 0.98% to 19,764.89 points, with Tesla and Meta Platforms rising more than 2% and Nvidia rising more than 3%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average recovered early losses and closed up 66.69 points, or 0.16%, at 42,906.95.
Trading was thin on Monday and is expected to remain subdued this week. The New York Stock Exchange closed early at 1 pm (EST) on Christmas Eve and the market was closed on Christmas Day.
—CNBC’s Li Yun contributed to this report.
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