Asia-Pacific markets advance on Thursday with light trading volumes due to the holiday break. Investors assess the China's Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development's plans to intensify efforts to stabilize and prevent further decline in the property market in 2025. Markets in Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand were closed for a holiday on Thursday. Japan ( NKY:IND ) rose +1.30% to 39,304 on Thursday morning, following a slight fall in the prior session. Meanwhile, the broader Topix added 15 points or 0.5% to reach 2,749, marking its second session of gains. The rise was fueled by a Reuters report that Japan was preparing a record USD 735 billion state budget for the 2025 fiscal year. China ( SHCOMP ) rose +0.06% was subdued on Thursday morning, hovering around 3,397 and showing little movement for the second session amid lackluster activity during the holiday week. The offshore yuan held steady at around 7.30 per dollar, marking its second consecutive session of subdued movement amid lackluster activity during the holiday trading week. During a work conference held Tuesday and Wednesday, China's Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development said Beijing will keep up its efforts to stabilize and stop further declines in the real estate market in 2025. In addition to maximizing the function of the housing provident fund, the event demonstrated that the government will actively encourage housing demand. Hong Kong ( HSI ) flat India ( SENSEX ) fell -0.09% trading around 78,478 in early deals on Thursday, extending its flat performance from the previous session, as a slide in the tech and realty sectors offset gains in auto, PSU banks, and financial services. Traders were cautious amid a lack of market-moving catalysts while anticipating the presentation of the Union Budget 2025 for insight into India's economic outlook next week. Australia ( AS51 ) market closed The benchmark KOSPI traded nearly flat at around 2,440 points in early Thursday trading, amid subdued activity due to the holiday season. The Bank of Korea plans to lower interest rates next year to boost economic growth. In its "2025 Monetary and Credit Policy Direction,", released December 25, the central bank noted that rising political uncertainty, intensifying overseas competition, and changes in global trade have heightened downside risks to the economy. Wall Street was closed for Christmas on Wednesday, following an upbeat session the day before, which marked the start of the seasonal Santa Claus rally. U.S. stock futures were slightly lower on Thursday morning amid subdued activity due to the holiday season: Dow -0.01% ; S&P 500 +0.06%; Nasdaq +0.20%. Currencies: ( JPY:USD ), ( CNY:USD ), ( AUD:USD ), ( INR:USD ), ( HKD:USD ), ( NZD:USD ). More on Asia: PBoC holds MLF rate steady for third month, withdraws largest cash since 2014 RBA minutes: Underscores need to maintain restrictive monetary policy for the time being People's Bank of China keeps key lending rates steady for second straight month, as expected Japan’s Nov headline inflation rate rises to three-month high of 2.9%; core inflation tops forecast Bank of Japan keeps policy rate unchanged at 0.25%, as widely expected
