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 gained 119.21 points, or 0.3%, to 39,395.60.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index dropped 182.02 points, or 0.9%, to 19,560.44.
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.
In other markets
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 retreated 8.97 points, or 0.2%, to 3,921.59.
In Taiwan, the Taiex added 12.61 points, or 0.1%, to 23,267.94
In Korea, the Kospi index slid 22.15 points, or 0.9%, to 2,441.85
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index moved forward 22.74 points, or 0.6%, at 3,822.68.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 edged ahead 0.28 points to 12,896.95.
In Australia, the ASX 200 recovered 12.31 points, or 0.2%, to 8,474.92.
