Asia report: Regional markets follow Wall Street higher

12th Dec 2025 10:47

(Sharecast News) - Asia-Pacific markets traded higher on Friday, tracking gains on Wall Street after two key US benchmarks notched fresh record highs following the Federal Reserve's latest interest rate cut.

The Fed on Wednesday lowered its key overnight borrowing rate by 25 basis points to a range of 3.5% to 3.75%, underpinning risk appetite across the region.

Patrick Munnelly, market strategy partner at TickMill, noted that "buyers returned to US stocks after worries about Oracle's plans for significant capital investments in artificial intelligence infrastructure led to a general retreat from riskier assets," adding that the S&P 500 "rebounded from earlier losses to close up 0.2%, achieving a record closing value."

Sentiment was also supported by policy signals from China, where top leaders affirmed broad economic support for the year ahead.

Japanese benchmark rises sharply

In Japan, equities advanced sharply, with the Nikkei 225 rising 1.37% to 50,836.55 and the broader Topix gaining 1.98% to 3,423.83.

Munnelly said that "Asian markets surged following new highs in US and global equity indexes, driven by this week's Federal Reserve interest rate cut and an optimistic outlook for the US economy," adding that Japan's Topix "led the gains in the region, nearing an all-time high, with financial stocks benefiting from speculation that a Bank of Japan interest rate hike is likely next week."

Sumitomo Metal Mining jumped 9.13%, Panasonic climbed 6.91% and Toray Industries added 5.87% after announcing a new antistatic grade of its Toyolacparel ABS resin, designed for semiconductor and electronics manufacturing.

The company said the material offered surface resistivity of 10⁹ ohms per square, five times more effective than existing products, and planned to begin providing customer samples next fiscal year while continuing development.

Chinese markets also moved higher.

The Shanghai Composite rose 0.41% to 3,889.35, with China XD Electric and Guangdong Meiyan Jixiang Hydropower both up 10.06%, while Chongqing Zaisheng Technology gained 10.05%.

The Shenzhen Component advanced 0.84% to 13,258.33.

Gains came after China's top leaders concluded an annual economic planning meeting, pledging to boost consumption, stabilise the property sector and strengthen domestic technology capabilities ahead of the next five-year plan starting in 2026.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index climbed 1.75% to 25,976.79.

China Life Insurance rose 5.52%, CK Infrastructure Holdings gained 4.55% and ZTO Express Cayman advanced 4.36%.

The broader global rally followed fresh records in US equities, with Munnelly noting that "the MSCI All Country World Index, one of the broadest measures of the stock market, increased by 0.1% on Friday after hitting a record high in the previous session," and is "projected to grow by approximately 21% in 2025, which would mark its best performance since 2019."

Korea, Australia, New Zealand all in the green too

Elsewhere, South Korean stocks posted strong gains, with the Kospi rising 1.38% to 4,167.16.

Kyungbang surged 29.99%, SeAH Besteel jumped 29.9% and Hanjinkal rallied 20.8%.

Australian equities followed the regional advance, with the S&P/ASX 200 up 1.23% at 8,697.30.

Greatland Resources climbed 9.9%, Genesis Minerals gained 7.64% and Vault Minerals rose 6.36%, supported by strength in the resources sector.

In commodities, Munnelly said "copper held steady after reaching a new record high on Thursday, while most other industrial metals rose following the Fed's announcement," supporting mining stocks across the region.

New Zealand's S&P/NZX 50 edged 0.08% higher to 13,406.91.

Oceania Healthcare rose 3.33%, Sky Network Television gained 2.73% and Vista Group International added 2.64% after UBS Group disclosed a 5.06% stake, equivalent to 12,096,719 shares, as of 9 December.

Economic data showed the BusinessNZ performance of manufacturing index increased to 51.4 in November, indicating modest expansion in the sector.

Dollar mixed as oil prices move marginally lower

In currency markets, the dollar strengthened 0.23% against the yen to last trade at JPY 155.94, while edging lower against its Australian and New Zealand counterparts, falling 0.05% on the former to AUD 1.4997 and slipping 0.05% against the latter to change hands at NZD 1.7206.

Oil prices were marginally lower on the day, with Brent crude futures last down 0.16% on ICE at $61.18 per barrel, and the NYMEX quote for West Texas Intermediate falling 0.14% to $57.52.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.