High-rise buildings are seen near Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong, China.
Costfoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets climbed Friday, led by Hong Kong, as Wall Street continued to rally after the U.S. Federal Reserve held rates and laid out a roadmap for cuts in 2024 and beyond.
China released November data for its industrial output growth, retail sales, house prices and urban investment. Most notably, it posted its biggest industrial output expansion since February 2022 in November, though retail sales growth underwhelmed expectations.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index led gains in Asia and surged 2% higher, while the CSI 300 index reversed earlier gains to fall 0.27%.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.88% to close at 7,442.7, notching its sixth straight day of gains to reach a new four-month high.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 also rebounded from Thursday’s losses, up 0.87% and ending at 32,970.55 , while the Topix was 0.47% higher and finished at 2,332.28.
South Korea’s Kospi advanced 0.76% to 2,563.56, but the small-cap Kosdaq fell 0.27% to close at 838.31. The Kospi is at its highest level in almost three months.
Read the full article here