Bank of Japan meeting minutes

Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed on Christmas Eve, after major US benchmark indices rose overnight, helped by gains in technology stocks.

Japan Nikkei 225 fell 0.32% to close at 39,036.85 according to Bank of Japan October meeting minutes showed that Members agreed to continue raising rates if the economic and inflation outlook were met.

japanese car manufacturer sling rose 12.69%, while Nissan shares rose more than 5%, a day later announced to start formal talks merge, paving the way to create the third largest automobile manufacturer in the world by sales. Discussions are scheduled to conclude in June 2025.

South Korea Kospi fell 0.06% to close at 2,440.52, while the Kosdaq rose 0.13% to close at 680.11.

South Korea’s consumer confidence fell to the lowest level in more than two years. the country consumer sentiment index fell more than 12 points from November to 88.4 in December, falling below the 100-point mark that separates optimism from pessimism, a survey released by the Bank of Korea showed.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 1.08% to close at 20,098.29, while mainland China’s CSI 300 added 1.27% to close at 3,983.69.

Australia S&P/ASX 200 closed 0.24% higher at 8,220.9 on a shortened trading day.

Overnight in the USA, stocks rose as the strength of technology names helped the broader market.

He S&P 500 gained 0.73% to 5,974.07. heavy technology Nasdaq Composite rose 0.98% to 19,764.89, as tesla and Metaplatforms added more than 2% and NVIDIA rose more than 3%.

He Dow Jones Industrial Average It erased earlier losses and ended the day up 66.69 points, or 0.16%, at 42,906.95.

Trading was light on Monday and is expected to remain light throughout the week. The New York Stock Exchange closes early on Tuesday Christmas Eve at 1 pm ET, and the market closes on Christmas Day.

—CNBC’s Yun Li contributed to this report.