BOK rate decision and unemployment in Australia

Asia-Pacific markets were mostly higher on Thursday, after US markets soared on an unexpected decline in core inflation figures in December and strong bank profits.

The Korean central bank surprised market observers by keeping its key interest rates unchanged at 3%. Economists polled by Reuters had expected the Bank of Korea to cut its key interest rate by 25 basis points.

South Korea Kospi ended the day up 1.23% at 2,527.49, while the Kosdaq small-cap index rose 1.77% to 724.24 following the announcement. The Korean won last weakened slightly to trade at 1,456.91 against the greenback.

The reference of Japan Nikkei 225 closed 0.33% higher at 38,572.60, while the Topix lost 0.09% to 2,688.31.

Japan’s annual producer price index rose 3.8 percent in December, in line with the expectations of economists polled by Reuters.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 1.08% in its final hour of trading, while mainland China’s CSI 300 Index gained 0.11% to end the day at 3,800.38.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX200 ended the day up 1.38% at 8,327.

The country’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for December rose slightly to 4% from 3.9% in November, in line with estimates by economists polled by Reuters.

Overnight in the United States, stocks posted significant gains, with all three major averages posting their best day since November 6.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.65%, while the S&P 500 gained 1.83%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 2.45%.

At the same time, the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield fell to about 4.65%, or about 13 basis points, following the CPI report.

Oil prices rose following the announcement of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and the hostage agreement. Brent crude gained 0.21% while WTI edged up 0.29% to $80.27 per barrel.

— CNBC’s Hakyung Kim and Lisa Kailai Han contributed to this report.