People watch the first sunrise of the new year from a pedestrian bridge overlooking the city skyline in Seoul on Jan. 1, 2024.
Jung Yoon-ji | AFP | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets were mixed on Thursday, as investors digested business activity data from Australia and Japan and awaited PMI figures from India.
The Bank of Korea also kept its benchmark interest rate at 3.5 percent, in line with expectations. The Bank of Korea noted in its statement that inflation in South Korea continued its downward trend, although it pointed to the need to monitor property prices and household debt.
This comes after the Federal Reserve released the minutes of its July meeting, where the summary revealed that some participants raised the issue of easing interest rates at the July meeting instead of September.
However, the “vast majority” of participants at the July 30-31 meeting “note that if data continue to flow in as expected, it will likely be appropriate to ease policy at the next meeting,” the summary said.
Japan Nikkei 225 Index Japan's consumer price index rose 0.24%, while the broader Topix index fell 0.15%. Business activity in Japan expanded at a faster pace in August, with the composite Purchasing Managers' Index rising to 53.0 from 52.5 in July.
The country's manufacturing sector returned to growth, while the services sector expanded faster.
South Korea Cosby The Tokyo Stock Exchange's 500 index retreated from earlier gains to fall 0.34%, while the small-cap Kosdaq index posted a larger loss of 1.39%.
Hong Kong Hang Seng Index China's technology stock index rose 0.35%, while mainland China's CSI 300 index lost 0.24%.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.25% after the country's composite purchasing managers' index rose in August to 51.4 from 49.9 the previous month, hitting a three-month high supported by a rise in services activity, according to Judo Bank.
In the United States, the three major indexes rose after the Federal Reserve minutes boosted hopes of an interest rate cut in the near future.
The S&P 500 rose 0.42%, bringing the benchmark index about 1% closer to its all-time record close. The technology-dominated Nasdaq Composite added 0.57%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.14%.
—CNBC's Alex Haring and Samantha Sobin contributed to this report.
