People pose for photos in front of a Christmas light installation in central Seoul on December 22, 2023.
Jung Yeon-je | Afp | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets were mixed on Christmas Eve, after major US benchmarks rose overnight, helped by gains in technology stocks.
from Japan Nikkei 225 slipped 0.32% according to the minutes of the October meeting of the Bank of Japan showed that members agreed to stick to rate hikes if economic and inflation outlooks are respected.
Japanese car manufacturer Honda jumped 15%, while Nissan shares fell more than 5%, a day later they announced the start of formal discussions merge, paving the way for creation the third largest automobile manufacturer in the world in terms of sales. Discussions are expected to conclude in June 2025.
South Korea Kospi was down 0.26% while the Kosdaq was up 0.16%.
South Korean consumer confidence has fallen to its lowest level in more than two years. The country consumer confidence index fell more than 12 points from November to 88.4 in December, falling below the 100-point mark that separates optimism from pessimism, according to a survey released by the Bank of Korea.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.42% at the open, while mainland China’s CSI 300 rose 0.10%.
Australia S&P/ASX200 was 0.35% higher during a shortened trading day.
Night in the United States, stocks rose as the strength of tech names has helped the market as a whole.
THE S&P500 gained 0.73% to 5,974.07. The heavy on technology Nasdaq Composite rose 0.98% to 19,764.89, as Tesla And Metaplatforms added more than 2% and Nvidia climbed more than 3%.
THE Dow Jones Industrial Average erased earlier losses and ended the day up 66.69 points, or 0.16%, at 42,906.95.
Trading was weak on Monday and is expected to remain subdued throughout the week. The New York Stock Exchange closes early Tuesday for Christmas Eve, at 1 p.m. ET, and the market is closed on Christmas Day.
—CNBC’s Yun Li contributed to this report.
