Tokyo — TOKYO (AP) — Bitcoin topped $100,000 for the first time and Asian stocks were mostly higher Thursday in signs of another record-setting rally on Wall Street.
U.S. futures fell while oil prices rose.
Bitcoin soared toward $100,000 late Wednesday US time after President-elect Donald Trump selected cryptocurrency advocate Paul Atkins as his candidate for chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission. The cryptocurrency rose dramatically from $69,374 on November 5, Election Day. It was up 4.7% to $103,308.27 as of 11 PM ET.
As President Yoon Seok-yeol, who suddenly declared martial law on Tuesday night, faced the risk of impeachment, Korea’s KOSPI closed at 2,449.74, down 0.6% from the previous day, continuing the 1.4% decline from the previous day. He withdrew the martial law declaration within six hours.
Minister Yoon accepted the Defense Minister’s resignation on Thursday after the opposition party pushed for the impeachment of both men. Yesterday, the Democratic Party of Korea and the opposition party submitted a joint motion to impeach President Yoon Seok-yeol over his declaration of martial law.
Elsewhere in Asia, Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 0.3% to 39,406.04, while Australia’s S index rose 0.3% to 39,406.04.&The P/ASX 200 rose 0.2% to 8,474.90. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index closed down 1.0% at 19,541.09. The Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.3% to 3,374.91.
Taiwan’s Taiex rose nearly 0.1%, while India’s Sensex was down 0.1%.
“As the dust settles on Korean markets and a fragile calm returns, Asia is gearing up for a lively Thursday. “Moods were further boosted by a new wave of record highs on Wall Street,” Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management, said in a commentary.
Stocks rose on Wednesday on optimistic comments from tech companies about the artificial intelligence boom.
S&The P 500 rose 0.6% to 6,086.49, expected to be one of the best years of the new millennium. This is the 56th time this year that the index has hit an all-time high, following 11 of the past 12 days.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.7% to 45,014.04, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.3% to 19,735.12.
Salesforce surged 11%, helping push the market higher after delivering stronger sales in its latest quarter than analysts expected. But the profits were a bit lacking.
“The rise of autonomous AI agents is revolutionizing the global workforce and reshaping how industries operate and scale,” CEO Mark Benioff said, highlighting the company’s artificial intelligence offerings for customers.
All the bullish talk helped Nvidia, the company whose chips are driving the shift to AI, rise 3.5%. It was the strongest force pushing S upward.&P 500 so far.
Retailers overall have given mixed signals about how resilient U.S. shoppers will remain. Their spending was one of the main reasons the U.S. economy avoided a recession that seemed inevitable after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates to curb inflation. But shoppers are currently still struggling with high prices and a slowing job market.
The highlight on Wall Street this week will be the U.S. government’s jobs report on Friday. This report will show how many people your employer hired and fired last month.
Expectations are growing that the Federal Reserve will cut the benchmark interest rate again at its meeting in two weeks. The Federal Reserve began easing interest rates from a 20-year high in September to provide more support for the job market.
The central bank was expected to continue cutting interest rates into next year, but the election of Donald Trump has somewhat upended Wall Street’s expectations. Trump’s preference for higher tariffs and other policies could lead to higher inflation, which could change the Fed’s plans.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Wednesday that the central bank can afford to cut interest rates cautiously because inflation has slowed from highs two years ago and the economy remains strong.
In the bond market, the 10-year Treasury yield fell from 4.23% to 4.18% on Tuesday afternoon.
In other trading Thursday morning, U.S. benchmark crude added 1 cent to $68.55 a barrel. Brent crude oil, the international standard, remained unchanged at $72.31 per barrel.
In currency trading, the US dollar fell from 150.62 Japanese yen to 149.90 yen. The euro price rose slightly to $1.0531 from $1.0510.
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AP Business Writer Stan Choe contributed.
