This is CNBC’s live blog covering Asia-Pacific markets.
Asia-Pacific markets were mostly higher Thursday, as Wall Street rose overnight after U.S. President Donald Trump postponed tariffs on certain automakers.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index rose 1%, while the Topix climbed 1.3%. Yields of Japanese government bond yields have surged, with the 10-year Japanese bond yield hitting its highest level since 2009, data from LSEG showed.
South Korea’s Kospi advanced 0.9% while the small-cap Kosdaq fell 0.75%.
South Korea’s consumer inflation for February rose 2% year on year, more than Reuters estimates of a 1.95% increase, and slower than the 2.2% gain in January.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 2.47% at the open while mainland China’s CSI 300 added 0.6% after Beijing on Wednesday announced plans to raise its fiscal deficit to “around 4%” of GDP, a rare increase that marks a meaningful shift in policy.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.6%.
The White House on Wednesday announced a one-month delay on tariffs for automakers whose vehicles comply with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt also said that Trump was “open” to additional tariff exemptions beyond the pause on auto levies.
Overnight in the U.S., the three major averages closed higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rebounded 485.60 points, or 1.14%, to finish at 43,006.59, regaining ground after plunging more than 1,300 points over the last two sessions. The S&P 500 added 1.12% to 5,842.63, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.46% to 18,552.73.
—CNBC’s Lisa Kailai Han and Alex Harring contributed to this report.
Japan auto stocks climb after Trump tariff exemption
Shares of Japanese automakers climbed after the White House announced a one-month North American tariff exemption for carmakers that comply with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement’s trade rules of origin.
Shares of Honda rose 2%, while Nissan climbed 1.99%. Mazda Motor advanced 2.64%.
— Lee Ying Shan
South Korea inflation softens for the first time in four months
South Korea’s inflation rate fell in February for the first time in four months, coming in at 2% from a year earlier, compared to a gain of 2.2% in January.
This figure was slightly above the 1.95% expected by economists polled by Reuters.
It also affords more room for South Korea’s central bank to cut rates further as the country struggles with a slowing economy.
— Lim Hui Jie
Stocks finish higher
Stocks ended Wednesday’s turbulent session in the green after a significant afternoon rally.
The Nasdaq Composite led the three major indexes with a 1.5% jump. The Dow and S&P 500 each climbed 1.1%.
— Alex Harring
Trump’s auto tariff extension helped reverse ‘selling frenzy,’ says SimCorp’s Brown
New Kia vehicles at the Port of Tacoma in Tacoma, Washington, US, on Tuesday, March 4, 2025.
The White House’s announcement on Wednesday of tariff exemptions for auto makers helped reverse this week’s market downturn, according to Melissa Brown, managing director of investment decision research at SimCorp.
“Investors have wanted to view the tariff threat as just that, a threat meant as a negotiating tactic, not one that would actually be implemented,” Brown said. “As the deadline for Canadian and Mexican tariffs drew closer, markets became concerned and reacted with a sharp sell-off. … But, today, as the government announced potential agreements and relief for certain sectors, the selling frenzy started to reverse.”
“The one thing that seems clear is that uncertainty for investors will continue,” Brown added. “What we say today may be obsolete by tomorrow.”
— Alex Harring
