Asia-Pacific markets are mixed after Wall Street headed into the Thanksgiving holiday with a broad-based rally.
More than half of the stocks traded on the New York Stock Exchange were higher on Wednesday. The tech-heavy Nasdaq also saw greater participation, with 62.9% of the index’s stocks rising. Small and mid caps outperformed on Wednesday, rising 0.7% and 0.6% respectively.
In the Asia-Pacific region, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.39%, extending its losses from the previous day.
According to flash estimates from Judo Bank, business activity in the country contracted at a faster pace in November. Australia’s composite purchasing managers’ index fell to 46.4 from 47.6 in October.
South Korea’s Kospi was up 0.38%, on track for a fourth straight day of gains, while the small-cap Kosdaq was also up 0.45%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slipped 0.3% but the mainland’s CSI 300 Index was marginally higher.
Japan’s markets are closed for a public holiday.
Overnight in the US, all three major indexes recovered from Tuesday’s losses, with the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield briefly falling to its lowest level in two months.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note briefly fell to 4.369% on Wednesday morning, its lowest level since 22 September. It later recovered to end little changed at 4.41%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.53% and the S&P 500 rose 0.41%. The Nasdaq Composite was up 0.46%.
