Asian equity markets rebounded on Thursday as risk appetite recovered following the U.S. Treasury's announcement of expanded buyback operations for longer-dated debt, set to begin in September.
The MSCI AC Asia Pacific equity gauge advanced 1.4%, snapping a two-day decline, while South Korea's KOSPI surged nearly 6% after plunging more than 5% the previous session. The rebound followed a program-selling halt triggered by Wednesday's semiconductor rout. Futures on the Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500 also rose 0.6% and 0.2%, respectively.
The 30-year U.S. Treasury yield eased about 1 basis point to 5.18%, while the 10-year yield fell to around 4.63%. The Treasury plans to at least double the size of its buyback operations to $4 billion or more per operation, aiming to stabilize longer-dated debt markets. The 30-year yield had earlier hit its highest level since 2007 prior to the intervention.
South Korean heavyweights led regional gains. SK Hynix surged 14% after announcing a 40 trillion won ($28.6 billion) share buyback and cancellation program, equivalent to about 3.3% of its shares. Samsung Electronics rose over 10% amid reports of a potential shareholder-return program worth more than 100 trillion won.
Japanese automakers also advanced, with Honda Motor gaining 4.7% to its highest level since July 8, 2024, and Toyota Motor Corp up 3.7%. The gains followed reports that Washington is moving closer to reducing tariffs on Canadian-made vehicles from 25% to 15% under a proposed U.S.-Canada trade agreement. Kioxia Holdings climbed 5.7% and Sony gained 2.8%.
Chinese technology stocks advanced, with Alibaba up 2.3%, Xiaomi gaining 3.8%, Baidu rising 3.5%, JD.com adding 2.8%, and Tencent up 1.8%. Regional markets were mixed, with the Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 and Shanghai Composite largely flat, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong climbed 1.3%. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 edged up 0.3%, Singapore's FTSE Straits Times fell 0.6%, India's Nifty 50 rose 0.2%, and Indonesia's Jakarta Stock Exchange Composite Index gained 1.6%.
Commodities also rallied. Gold broke back above $4,500 an ounce, its highest close in nearly three months, while Zijin Gold International surged nearly 16% in Hong Kong. Other Chinese gold miners gained more than 8%, and Australian miners including Ramelius Resources, Genesis Minerals, Regis Resources, and Perseus Mining all jumped more than 10%. Brent crude held around $92 a barrel, tracking a fifth straight advance amid U.S. economic pressure on Iran and the ongoing closure at the Strait of Hormuz.
