Korea Gains as Opposition Chief Wins Vote

Asia-Pacific markets advanced Wednesday after Wall Street rose on the back of a tech rally, led by chipmaker Nvidia, with South Korean stocks leading gains.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 reversed recent negative readings and gained 300.64 points, or 0.8%, to 37,747.45.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng leaped 141.54 points, or 0.6%, to 23,654.03.

South Korean markets rose as opposition party leader Lee Jae-myung won the presidential election. The Kospi hit its highest level since August last year.

His plan to amend the commercial law, which will broaden the legal duties of board members to include protecting the interests of minority shareholders, will “encourage boards to make fewer value-destructive decisions and more value-accretive ones,” Cho explained.

Looking ahead, he expects the incoming South Korean government to adopt aggressive fiscal stimulus to revive the domestic economy while also “pragmatically” handling international trade matters.

Australia’s economy grew 1.3% on a year-on-year basis in the first quarter, lower than the estimated 1.5% growth among economists polled by Reuters. The latest reading was unchanged from the previous quarter’s 1.3% year-on-year growth.

CHINA

Meanwhile, Chinese and Hong Kong markets were little changed after U.S. President Donald Trump commented that it was ‘extremely hard’ to strike a deal with his counterpart Xi Jinping, as a trade stalemate fueled calls for the leaders to talk.

In Shanghai, the CSI 300 poked ahead 16.73 points, or 0.4%, to 3,868.74.

In other markets

In Korea, the Kospi index returned from a day off to jump 71.87 points, or 2.7%, to 2,770.84

In Taiwan, the Taiex index soared 491.16 points, or 2.3%, to 21,618.09.

In Singapore, the Straits Times index edged up 9.5 points, or 0.2%, to 3,903.88

In New Zealand, the NZX 50 recovered 167.48 points, or 1.4%, to 12,494.71.

In Australia, the ASX 200 gained 75.16 points, or 0.9%, to 8,541.84.