Most Asian equity markets moved lower on Thursday, mirroring a weaker finish on Wall Street overnight, while South Korean shares bucked the regional trend and climbed to fresh record highs following upbeat earnings guidance from Samsung Electronics.
U.S. stocks closed mostly lower as investors locked in profits after recent record highs. During Asian trading hours, Wall Street index futures were largely flat, offering little direction to regional markets.
KOSPI hits new record on strong Samsung outlook
Japanese stocks extended their pullback, with the Nikkei 225 falling 1% and the broader TOPIX index easing 0.4%. The declines followed recent record levels, as investors continued profit-taking and reacted to the muted close in U.S. markets.
Mainland Chinese markets traded cautiously. The CSI 300 index slipped 0.4%, while the Shanghai Composite was largely unchanged, reflecting subdued investor sentiment.
Hong Kong equities also weakened, with the Hang Seng Index sliding 1.4%.
In contrast, South Korean stocks outperformed sharply. The benchmark KOSPI rose more than 1% to a new all-time high, supported by strong demand for semiconductor shares. Samsung Electronics surged after projecting a record fourth-quarter operating profit, driven by robust demand for memory chips used in artificial intelligence applications.
Rival chipmaker SK Hynix also advanced to record levels, buoyed by optimism surrounding its high-bandwidth memory business.
Asia markets cautious as Australia trade data weighs
Elsewhere in the region, investor focus turned to Australia, where fresh trade data pointed to a narrowing surplus in November. The figures showed exports declined while imports remained steady, a combination that could soften near-term growth expectations for commodity-linked markets.
Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed the goods trade surplus shrank to A$2.94 billion, below market forecasts. The decline was largely driven by weaker shipments of key exports such as iron ore and gold.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index traded largely flat following the release.
Elsewhere, Singapore’s Straits Times Index showed little movement, while India’s Nifty 50 edged down 0.2%, reflecting a broadly cautious tone across Asian markets.
