SHANGHAI, CHINA – The German Christmas Market is lit up at the Bund Central Square near Nanjing Road Pedestrian street in Shanghai, December 15, 2022. (Photo credit should read CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images)
Future Publishing | Future Publishing | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed Wednesday, with several indexes set to close early in lieu of the Christmas Eve holiday.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.14%, while the Topix traded around the flatline. South Korea’s Kospi added 0.2%, while the small-cap Kosdaq was 0.2% lower.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures were at 25,818, higher than the HSI’s last close of 25,774.14.
However, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slid 0.33%, snapping a four-day streak of gains.
Hong Kong and Australian markets are expected to close early.
U.S. futures were trading near the flatline in early Asian hours.
Overnight in the U.S., stocks rose for a fourth straight session as artificial intelligence names continued to outperform during a holiday-shortened week.
The S&P 500 added 0.46%, closing at a record level of 6,909.79. The broad market index is now just below its intraday all-time high of 6,920.34.
The Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.57% to end at 23,561.84. Gains in tech giants Nvidia and Broadcom, which rose around 3% and more than 2%, respectively, lifted the index. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 79.73 points, or 0.16%, and settled at 48,442.41.
—CNBC’s Sean Conlon and Pia Singh contributed to this report.
