Asia-Pacific markets open higher, shrugging off a week of trade turmoil

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A view of the city skyline of Lujiazui Shanghai Center in Pudong, Shanghai, China, on March 13, 2024.

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Asia-Pacific markets opened higher Thursday, tracking gains on Wall Street as investors shrug off a week of trade turmoil and a slew of disappointing U.S. tech earnings.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 traded 0.9% higher.

Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.39% while the Topix added 0.33%. South Korea's Kospi rose 0.45% while the Kosdaq traded 0.8% higher.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index climbed 0.31%, while mainland China's CSI 300 rose 0.14%.

India's central bank is expected to cut benchmark interest rates in its policy meeting that's underway, as it strives to stimulate a faltering economy. The decision will be out on Friday.

Overnight in the U.S., the three major indexes posted gains for the second day in a row, even as notable technology stocks Alphabet and AMD posted steep losses following earnings.

The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 317.24 points, or 0.71%, to 44,873.28. The index's gains were led by a sharp advance in Nvidia. The S&P 500 rose 0.39%, ending at 6,061.48. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite added 0.19%, closing at 19,692.33.

Nvidia jumped more than 5% after server maker Super Micro Computer announced full production availability of its artificial intelligence data center with Nvidia's Blackwell platform. Super Micro shares rose around 8% following the announcement.

—CNBC's Sean Conlon and Sarah Min contributed to this report.

India likely to cut benchmark rates for the first time in nearly five years as economy slows, inflation eases

India's central bank will likely cut benchmark interest rates in its policy meeting that's underway, as easing inflation offers it room to stimulate a faltering economy, though the rupee hovers at record lows.

The Reserve Bank of India is poised to trim the repo rate by 25 basis points to 6.25% as it concludes its policy meeting on Friday, setting off "a shallow rate cut cycle," said Taimur Baig, chief economist at DBS Bank.

Indian bonds have rallied in recent weeks with the 10-year benchmark yield falling by 16.5 basis points in about three weeks to 6.664% as of Wednesday close, according to LSEG data, as traders ramp up wagers for an interest rate cut at the February meeting.

Read the full story here.

—Anniek Bao

Honda shares fall nearly 4% while Nissan rises over 5% amid report merger talks may fall apart

Shares of Honda fell 3.8% and Nissan climbed 5.2% a day after a local newspaper reported that the automakers were considering calling off their merger talks.

Nissan released a statement on Wednesday following the reports, stating that the matter "has not been announced" by the company.

"Honda and our company are in the stage of advancing various discussions, including the contents of the report, and we plan to establish a direction and make an announcement around mid-February," the statement established.

— Lee Ying Shan

Stocks close in positive territory

The three major indexes finished higher on Wednesday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 317.24 points, or 0.71%, to finish at 44,873.28, while the S&P 500 rose 0.39% to close at 6,061.48. The Nasdaq Composite also gained 0.19% to settle at 19,692.33.