Mixed Mood In Asian Markets

(RTTNews) - Mixed sentiment prevailed in Asian stock markets on Thursday as markets assessed the inflationary situation, the Middle East crisis, the outlook for the technology sector and the movements in bond yields. Sentiment was supported by upbeat results released by U.S. memory chip maker Micron a day earlier.

Equity markets in China and Hong Kong are closed for a holiday.

The Japanese benchmark Nikkei 225 added 2,203 points or 3.3 percent to close trading at 68,956.72. The day's trading ranged between 68,995.30 and 67,081.66 amidst a rally in technology and artificial intelligence-related stocks.

Lasertec Corp surged 11.1 percent followed by Advantest Corp that jumped 9.8 percent. Ibiden, Murata Manufacturing, Taiyo Yuden, all gained more than 8 percent. Idemitsu Kosan slipped 4 percent. Daiichi Life, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial, Tokio Marine Holdings, all lost 3.1 percent.

Helped by gains in semiconductor-related stocks, Korean Stock Exchange's Kospi Index rallied 133 points or 1.95 percent from the previous close of 6,838.04 to close trading at 6,971.35. The day's trading range was between 6,765.06 and 6,971.36. Nevertheless, the index is holding on to gains of close to 102 percent over the course of the past year.

Australia's S&P/ASX200 closed trading at 8,614.40, shedding 175 points or 1.99 percent from the previous close of 8,789.30. Sentiment was impacted by the spike in global bond yields as well as concerns about inflation. The day's trading ranged between 8,613.20 and 8,789.30. The index is trading with losses of more than 2.6 percent over the course of the past year.

Data#3 led gains with a surge of 13.7 percent. PDI Gold followed with gains of 4.1 percent. Liontown led losses with a decline of 15.1 percent. Lynas Rare Earths as well as Vulcan Energy Resources followed with losses of more than 8 percent.

The S&P/NZX 50 of the New Zealand Stock Exchange slipped 24 points or 0.17 percent to close trading at 13,810.51. The day's trading ranged between 13,672.99 and 13,853.55 as markets focused on the Middle East crisis and inflationary pressures. The benchmark index has gained around 2.8 percent over the course of the past year.

EROAD rallied more than 2 percent followed by Port of Tauranga that gained 1.6 percent. Skellerup led losses with a decline of 2.6 percent. ANZ Holdings followed with losses of 2.4 percent.

Despite softer-than-expected PCE inflation readings, Wall Street had closed on a mixed note on Wednesday amidst elevated treasury yields. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.86 percent to finish trading at 50,906.05. The S&P 500 lost 0.25 percent to finish trading at 7,651.54. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite however rallied 0.24 percent to close trading at 26,861.06.