The Exchange Square Complex, which houses the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets rose Thursday morning as Japan’s Topix crossed its all-time high of 2,886.50, previously set in December 1989.
The Topix jumped 0.56% in early morning trading, while the Nikkei 225 rose 0.55%. The Nikkei is less than 150 points from its all-time high of 40,888.43.
Japanese companies have delivered the largest wage hikes in three decades this year, according to the nation’s largest labor union.
Monthly pay for union-backed workers will climb 5.1% on average this fiscal year ending March 2025, according to a survey of companies conducted since March by union group Rengo.
Big firms with 300 or more union-backed employees raised wages by 5.19%, while smaller firms increased pay by 4.45%.
Higher wage growth will help the country realize a “virtuous cycle” of rising prices and wages, allowing the Bank of Japan to raise interest rates and normalize its monetary policy.
Investors will also assess other data due Thursday, including Hong Kong business activity and Australian trade numbers.
Australia’s trade surplus is expected to narrow to 6.3 billion Australian dollars ($4.23 billion) from about AU$ 6.5 billion.
South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.98%, while the Kosdaq was up 0.75%
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.08%.
Hong Kong Hang Seng index futures were at 18,012, higher than the HSI’s last close of 17,978.57.
Overnight in the U.S., the S&P 500 added 0.51% to close at a record 5,537.02. The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.88%, also ending at an all-time high of 18,188.30 as tech giants like Tesla and Nvidia rallied.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.06% to end at 39,308, weighed down by a drop in UnitedHealth.
—CNBC’s Alex Harring and Hakyung Kim contributed to this report.
