Asia-Pacific markets traded mostly higher on Thursday following a slew of economic reports from the region. South Korea's GDP returned to growth in the second quarter of 2025, expanding by 0.6% on a quarterly basis. Australia's service sector activity saw a rise in July, while Japan's private sector activity grew modestly in the same month.
Meanwhile, South Korea said that trade talks with the United States, which were to be held on Friday, have been postponed due to a scheduling issue. US President Donald Trump noted earlier that he was in the process of getting a trade agreement with China and that he has "a lot of deals cooking."
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 traded flat at 4:11 am CET. South Korea's Kospi Composite gained 0.85% a minute later. Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.20% at 4:13 am CET, while, on the Chinese mainland, the Shanghai Composite and the Shenzhen Composite increased by 0.25% and 0.55%, respectively. Japan's Nikkei 225 surged by 1.96% at 4:14 am CET, extending gains from yesterday's trade deal with the US.
The dollar traded 0.32% lower against the yen, going for ¥146.0240 at 4:17 am CET.
