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The Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE), operated by Japan Exchange Group Inc. (JPX), in Tokyo, Japan, on Monday, Aug. 5, 2024.
Noriko Hayashi | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets are set to open higher on Thursday, following gains on Wall Street that saw the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average reach new records as investors shook off geopolitical concerns.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.47% in early trading.
Japan's Nikkei 225 futures pointed to a higher open for the market, with the futures contract in Chicago at 39,830 and its counterpart in Osaka at 39,690 compared to the previous close of 39,277.96.
Hong Kong Hang Seng index futures were at 21,070, higher than the HSI's last close of 20,637.24.
Traders in Asia will assess data from September on the prices of corporate goods out of Japan. Economists polled by Reuters expect the inflation rate to come in at 2.3%, down from 2.5% in August.
Overnight in the U.S., the S&P 500 rallied 0.71% to end at 5,792.04 after hitting an all-time high, while the 30-stock Dow surged 431.63 points, or 1.03%, to reach 42,512 for a record close. The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.6% to end at 18,291.62.
Wall Street maintained its gains after the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve's September meeting, in which it cut by a half percentage point, revealed that a "substantial majority of participants" had favored reducing interest rates by the larger amount.
— CNBC's Samantha Subin and Sarah Min contributed to this report.
CNBC Pro: These cheap stocks are outperforming, and analysts give 5 more than 20% upside
Markets just keep rallying this year, with the S&P 500 up nearly 22% year-to-date and the Nasdaq jumping around 21%. In global stocks, the MSCI World index is around 16% higher.
Many on Wall Street expect the trend to continue. Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and others all see the S&P 500 around 6,000 by the end of the year, up from around 5,730 on Tuesday.
With markets already running high, CNBC Pro screened for global stocks that have outperformed the MSCI World index, but still look cheap based on their forward price-to-earnings ratios.
CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.
— Weizhen Tan
Stocks finish higher, S&P and Dow hit new highs
Stocks rallied Wednesday and the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average notched new highs.
The S&P 500 rallied 0.7% to end at 5,792.04 after notching an all-time high, while the Nasdaq Composite added 0.6% to finish at 18,291.62. The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 431.63 points, or 1%, to settle at 42,512.00 and at a record close.
— Samantha Subin
Oil closes lower amid uncertainty over how Israel will hit Iran
Crude oil futures edged lower Wednesday, after selling off steeply in the previous amid uncertainty over how Israel will retaliate against Iran.
U.S. crude oil closed at $73.24 per barrel, down 33 cents or 0.45%. Global benchmark Brent settled at $76.58 per barrel, down 60 cents or 0.78%.
Oil futures sold off more than 4% on Tuesday as the rally on war risk in the Middle East has stalled out. Israel has vowed to hit back against Iran for last week's ballistic missile strike, but there is growing perception that it may not target oil facilities.
"From here, durable forms of supply disruption need to occur to see further advances for energy," Ryan Grabinski, managing director and investment strategist at Strategas.
— Spencer Kimball
Rio Tinto on pace for longest losing streak in more than three years
Shares of Rio Tinto fell 0.5%% in afternoon trading, putting the stock on track for its eighth consecutive day of losses. If the stock closes lower, this will mark its longest losing streak since March 23, 2021, when it saw eight straight days in the red.
The move comes after the miner announced it's acquiring fellow miner Arcadium Lithium in an all-cash transaction for $5.85 per share. Shares of that company surged more than 30% during Wednesday's session.
RIO vs. ALTM, 1-day
— Sean Conlon
English (US) ·