Tokyo’s Nikkei closed at a two-and-a-half-month high of 28,383.09, up 267.35 points, or +0.95%, supported by the release of the Federal Reserve’s minutes, which showed that it is possible that the Fed will raise interest rates at a slower pace in the near future. The winners were Cyber Agent Inc+6.94%, Nippon Yusen K.K+6.05%, and Advantest Corp.+4.56%. The losers were Mazda Motor-2.42%, JGC Corp.-1.87%, and Mitsubishi Motors Corp.-1.79%.
The South Korean Composite (KOSPI) closed at 2,441.33 points, up 23.32 points or +0.96%, after the Bank of Korea raised interest rates slightly by 0.25% as the economic outlook showed signs of slowing. The winners were Dae Young Pkg+18.93%, Dynamic Design+17.78%, and Hyosung Chemical+12.65%. The losers were IIdong Holdings-11.22%, Automobile &Pc-10%, and II Dong Pharma-9.38%.
China’s Shanghai Composite closed down 7.60 points, or -0.25%, at 3,089.31 points as the market was pressured by concerns over the impact of COVID-19, which is spreading rapidly in China. The worst performers were Essence Information Technology Co-13.65%, Guangdong Guangzhou Daily Media-10.05%, and Beijing Tricolor-10%. The best performers were Guang Insight Brand Marketing Group+19.06%, Jiangsu HSC New Energy Materials+16.80%, and Chengdu Jafaantai Tech+15.14%.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 closed at 7,241.80 points, up 10.00 points or +0.14%, and the All Ordinaries closed at 7,432.20 points, up 9.80 points or +0.13%. The winners were St Barbara (+9.09%), Westgold Resources (+7.89%), and Kogan.com (+7.87%). The losers were Whitehaven Coal-6.65%, Nuix-4.05%, and NRW Holdings-3.03%.
The Hong Kong stock market closed up 137.09 points or +0.78% at 17,660.90 points. The best performers were Yida China+272%, InvesTech+63.79%, and Clover Bioharmaceuticals+28.67%. The worst performers were Million Stars (53.09%), Stream Ideas Gr (34.29%), and New Silkroad Cultura (33.33%).
In Thailand, the SET closed at 1,624.96 points, up 0.56 points or +0.03%. The winners were T. Krungthai Industry +14.41%, Ananda Development +10.53%, and Polynet+10.37%. The losers were Thiensurat-13.37%, Team Consulting Engineering and Management-7.50%, and EMC-6.67%.