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)
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Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed Wednesday amid thinner trading as several indexes are 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, after the broad market S&P 500 notched a record close.
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.
