The Sydney Opera House Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
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Asia-Pacific markets opened higher Friday, as U.S. stocks ended lower on the first trading session of 2025, weighed down by tech stocks.
The People’s Bank of China is reportedly planning to cut interest rates “at an appropriate time” this year, the Financial Times reported citing comments from the central bank. The country’s 7-day reverse repo rate is currently set at 1.5%.
Separately, China’s commerce ministry plans to impose export restrictions on certain technology used to make battery components and for processing critical minerals like lithium and gallium, according to a notice issued on Thursday.
Investors in Asia will continue to assess the political uncertainty in South Korea as the country’s corruption watchdog seeks to execute an arrest warrant for impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol, according to local media Yonhap News. Yoon’s short-lived martial law attempt on Dec. 3 has led to a political turmoil in the country.
South Korea’s Kospi index was up 1.03% and the small-cap Kosdaq rose 1.1%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.18% at open.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures pointed to a lower open, standing at 19,610, lower than the index’s last close of 19,623.32.
Japan markets remain closed for a holiday.
The three major U.S. indexes ended the first trading session of the new year lower, extending the weakness at the end of 2024, signaling the markets may not see a “Santa Claus rally” this year.
Investors were hoping for a “Santa Claus Rally” which spans the last five trading days of a year and the first two trading days of the following January. During this stretch of time, the S&P 500 has gained an averaged 1.3% while nearly 80% of the time finishing higher, Dow Jones Market Data going back to 1950 showed.
Overnight stateside, the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 151.95 points, or 0.36%, to end at 42,392.27, while the S&P 500 dropped 0.22% to 5,868.55 and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite shed 0.16% to 19,280.79.
That marked the fifth straight session in the red for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, their longest losing streaks since April. Big tech stocks weighed down the market, with Apple falling 2.6%, and Tesla slumping 6% on lower annual deliveries.
— CNBC’s Jesse Pound and Christina Cheddar Berk contributed to this report.