Asian markets rise after Wall Street’s latest rally

By Marketwatch

AFP/Getty Images

Pedestrians walk on a zebra crossing outside Shinjuku station in Tokyo.

Asian markets mostly gained in early trading Thursday, after tech stocks led a rally on Wall Street.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 (NIKKEI:JP:NIK)   rose 1.9% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index (HONG:HK:HSI)   slipped 0.1%. The Shanghai Composite (SHG:CN:SHCOMP)   was about flat, as was the smaller-cap Shenzhen Composite (SHENHZEN:CN:399106)  . South Korea’s Kospi (KOREA:KR:180721)   rose 0.7% and benchmark indexes in Taiwan (TAIWAN:TW:Y9999)  , Singapore (SES:SG:STI)   and Indonesia (INDONESIA:ID:JAKIDX)   were mostly higher. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 (S&P:AU:XJO)   fell 0.7%.

On Wednesday, tech shares resumed their rally in the U.S. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DOW:DJIA)   rose 289.93 points, or 1.1%, to close at 27,976.84. The S&P 500 (S&P:SPX)   added 44.66 points, or 1.4%, finishing at 3,380.35, after briefly trading above its all-time closing high of 3,386.15 set Feb. 19. The Nasdaq Composite (AMERICAN:COMP)   climbed 229.42 points, or 2.1%, to close at 11,012.24.