Shares in the Asia-Pacific traded higher on Wednesday after U.S. stocks rallied for a second day.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index surged and was up around 6% in the final hour of trade on its return after a holiday Tuesday. The Hang Seng Tech index soared 7.4% higher.
The Nikkei 225 in Japan rose 0.48% to close at 27,120.53, while the Topix added 0.32% to 1,912.92.
In South Korea, the Kospi was up 0.26% at 2,215.22 and the Kosdaq gave up early gains to close 1.64% lower at 685.34. Inflation in South Korea slowed slightly in September, according to official data released Wednesday.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was up 1.74% at 6,815.70. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 2.64%.
Mainland China markets remain closed for the Golden Week holiday, and India’s stock market is also shut for a holiday.
On Wall Street overnight, stocks soared overnight in the U.S. for a second session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 825.43 points, or 2.8%, to 30,316.32. The S&P 500 advanced nearly 3.1% to close at 3,790.93, and the Nasdaq Composite was 3.3% higher to end at 11,176.41.
“There is no denying incoming U.S. economic data is having a hand in equity, bond and currency moves so far this week,” wrote Ray Attrill, head of FX strategy at National Australia Bank.
The U.S. Job Openings and Labor Turnover report sprang a “big downside surprise” that couldn’t be ignored, he wrote. It’s the “first meaningful sign of some cracks” in the labor market, though it is still very tight, he added.
