India Stocks Surge to Record Highs; Asia Markets Rally on Wall Street Tech Gains & Fed Rate Cut Hopes

India's Market Soars to Record Highs Amidst Asia's Rally and US Tech Rebound

Asia-Pacific financial markets experienced a strong day on Thursday, largely propelled by a rebound in US tech stocks and growing optimism for a Federal Reserve interest rate cut. Leading the charge were Indian benchmarks, with both the Nifty 50 and BSE Sensex reaching unprecedented record highs.

India's Nifty 50 index climbed to 26,284.2, while the BSE Sensex soared to 86,026.18. These impressive figures mark a significant milestone, as both indexes had last hit record highs in September 2024, indicating robust investor confidence and market momentum.

Asia-Pacific Markets Follow Suit

Across the wider Asia region, markets generally reflected this positive sentiment. Japan's Nikkei 225 index advanced by 1.42%, with technology shares playing a crucial role. Notable movers included Advantest, which saw a gain of up to 5%, tech conglomerate SoftBank, surging over 5%, and Tokyo Electron, up 2.09%. The broader Topix index also added 0.64%.

South Korea's Kospi index posted a 1.05% gain, while the smaller-cap Kosdaq increased by 0.39%. In a widely anticipated move, the Bank of Korea maintained its benchmark interest rate at 2.5% for the fourth consecutive policy meeting. This decision comes amidst ongoing concerns about a weakening local currency—the Korean won recently hit its lowest level against the U.S. dollar since April—and an overheated domestic housing market.

Australia's ASX/S&P 200 also joined the upward trend, rising 0.42%. Meanwhile, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index opened 0.12% higher, though mainland China's CSI 300 remained largely flat. Government data released Thursday revealed a notable contraction in China's industrial profits, which plunged 5.5% in October compared to the previous year. For the first ten months of 2024, profits saw a modest 1.9% year-on-year increase, a slowdown from the 3.2% rise observed in the January-September period.

Wall Street's Influence and Fed Rate Cut Hopes

The positive market activity in Asia mirrored strong overnight performance on Wall Street. Major U.S. indexes recorded their fourth consecutive day of gains, fueled by increasing expectations of a Federal Reserve interest rate cut in December. According to the CME FedWatch tool, investors now assign an 85% probability to a quarter-percentage-point rate cut next month, a significant jump from 30% just last week. On Wednesday, shares of artificial intelligence giant Oracle experienced a boost of over 4% after Deutsche Bank reaffirmed its bullish outlook, contributing to the overall strength of U.S. averages.

Specifically, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 314.67 points, or 0.67%, to close at 47,427.12. The S&P 500 climbed 0.69% to settle at 6,812.61, and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.82%, finishing the day at 23,214.69. This global interconnectedness highlights how optimism surrounding U.S. monetary policy and tech sector performance continues to ripple across international markets.