Europe Asia News

Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index edged up 0.13%, while the Topix climbed 0.62% to a record high. Shares of SoftBank Group fell for a second straight session, sliding more than 5%, after the Japanese giant said on Tuesday that it had sold its entire $5.8 billion stake in Nvidia in October to help finance its investment in OpenAI. South Korea’s Kospi was little changed, while the small-cap Kosdaq gained 0.79%.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 1.01% after government data released on Thursday showed that the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in October eased to 4.3%. The latest figure was better than economists’ expectations of 4.4% and the 4.5% recorded in September. The larger-than-expected decline in October dampened expectations for an interest rate cut.

The Australian dollar strengthened to 0.6556 against the U.S. dollar. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slipped 0.66%, while mainland China’s CSI 300 Index rose 0.95%. India’s Nifty 50 Index fell 0.12% in early trade.

U.S. stock futures moved lower in early Asian hours, as the ongoing market rotation helped push the Dow Jones Industrial Average to its first-ever close above 48,000 on Wednesday in the United States.

In the U.S., the 30-stock Dow added 326.86 points, or 0.68%, to finish at 48,254.82. The index also set a fresh all-time intraday high. The S&P 500 was little changed, ticking up 0.06% to close at 6,850.92, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.26% to end at 23,406.46.