Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed Thursday after Wall Street stock benchmarks notched record highs, shrugging off global political turmoil.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index dumped 304.43 points, or 0.8%, to 39,091.17.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index recovered 305.41 points, or 1.6%, to 19,865.85.
Investors are continuing to monitor the political situation in South Korea and France. Less than a day after he declared martial law, lawmakers
in South Korea filed a motion to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol.
The leader of Yoon’s ruling People Power Party, Han Dong-hoon, said on Thursday that the party will try to oppose the motion, Yonhap News Agency reported. In emails sent to NBC News, Yoon’s office has maintained that his call for martial law was constitutional.
The opposition party’s deputy spokesperson Cho Seung-rae reportedly said it planned to hold the vote on Saturday 7 p.m. local time, according to local media.
South Korea released its third-quarter revised gross domestic product, which showed the economy expanded 0.1% quarter-on-quarter, and 1.5% on an annual basis, unchanged from advanced estimates.
Amid the political turmoil in Asia and Europe, bitcoin surged and crossed the $100,000 mark, hitting a record of $103,844 U.S.
In other markets
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 jumped 51.55 points, or 1.3%, to 3,973.14.
In Taiwan, the Taiex subtracted 74.67 points, or 0.3%, to 23,193.27
In Korea, the Kospi index slid 13.69 points, or 0.6%, to 2,428.16
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index backpedaled 26.52 points, or 0.7%, at 3,796.10.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 slid 87.37 points, or 0.7%, to 12,809.59.
In Australia, the ASX 200 skidded 54.07 points, or 0.6%, to 8,420.85.
