Asia close: Stocks mostly higher in wake of gains on Wall Street

(Sharecast News) - Stocks in Asia were mostly higher on Thursday in the wake of the fresh record highs on Wall Street after the US presidential elections. The Shanghai Stock Exchange's Composite Index jumped 2.52% to 3,470.66, alongside a 2.02% gain for Hong Kong's Hang Seng to 20,953.34.

South Korea's Kospi meanwhile was little changed, edging up just 0.04% to 2,564.63.

Japan's Nikkei-225 was one of the chief exceptions, dipping by 0.25% to 39,381.41, but the broader Topix added 1.0% to 2,743.06.

In the background, the US dollar index gave back roughly half a percentage point to 104.53.

According to Chinese Customs Administration data, merchanside export values recorded year-on-year growth of 12.7%, which was up from 2.4% in September (consensus: 5%).

Commenting on the latest figures, Zichun Huang at Capital Economics noted how the Trump administration's threatened trade tariffs would not impact until the back half of 2025.

He also pointed out that the Chinese NPC's Standing Committee was expected to approve a fiscal package during this same week, which should boost imports.