CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stocks ended mostly higher on Thursday, with tech stocks surging as Nvidia posted first-quarter earnings and revenue ahead of estimates, helping ease fears of a China slowdown.
Sentiment was also underpinned after a U.S. trade court blocked President Donald Trump's 'Liberation Day' import tariffs from going into effect, ruling that he did not have 'unbounded authority' to tax imports from nearly every country.
The decision by the Manhattan-based three-judge Court of International Trade boosted risk appetite and weakened demand for safe-haven assets, with the Japanese yen falling as low as 146.26 against the greenback and gold dropping to $3,280 per ounce in Asian trade. Oil pushed higher alongside equity markets as tariff concerns eased.
China's Shanghai Composite index rose 0.70 percent to 3,363.45 despite reports that the U.S. government has imposed new export restrictions on a range of goods shipped to China. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index gained 1.35 percent to close at 23,573.38.
Japanese markets reached their highest level in more than two weeks as a weaker yen lifted exporters and chip-related shares surged on upbeat Nvidia's first-quarter results.
The Nikkei average jumped 1.88 percent to 38,432.98, making its highest close since May 13. The broader Topix index settled 1.53 percent higher at 2,812.02.
Automakers Toyota Motor, Honda, Hino Motors and Nissan surged 4-6 percent. In the tech sector, Advantest soared 5.4 percent and Tokyo Electron added 4.3 percent. Cable maker Fujikura, a gauge for AI investments, climbed 5.5 percent.
Seoul stocks rallied as the Bank of Korea lowered interest rates for the fourth time in the current easing cycle and flagged more cuts ahead amid heightened political uncertainty in the country and renewed concerns over Trump's sweeping tariffs.
The Kospi average climbed 1.89 percent to 2,720.64, its highest level of the year driven by institutional buying.
Australian markets eked out modest gains to notch their highest close in three months. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 edged up by 0.15 percent to 8,409.80 led by energy stocks.
The broader All Ordinaries index closed 0.15 percent higher at 8,637.80. Woodside Energy Group rallied 2.8 percent after the federal government extended the life of its Northwest Shelf gas project.
Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 index fell 0.65 percent to 12,281.31, marking a second straight day of declines and reaching its lowest level since early May.
Overnight, U.S. stocks ended lower as investors digested hawkish FOMC minutes and braced for Nvidia's earnings results.
According to minutes from the Federal Reserve's May 6-7 meeting, 'almost all' Fed officials judged that downside risks to employment and ... upside risks to inflation had risen, primarily reflecting the potential effects of tariff increases.
The Dow and the S&P 500 both fell around 0.6 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite declined half a percent.
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