Asia-Pacific markets set to track Wall Street gains after Lunar New Year break

In this articleAsia-Pacific markets were poised to open higher Thursday, with several bourses in the region returning from the Lunar New Year holiday.Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was 0.81% higher in early trade.Japan's Nikkei 225 futures pointed to a stronger open for the market after coming back from a public holiday, with the futures contract in Chicago at 57,645 and its counterpart in Osaka at 57,520 compared to the last close of 57,143.84.Hong Kong and mainland China markets remain closed for the Lunar New Year break.Investors in Asia will be watching for any spillover from the tech-led rally on Wall Street overnight, although the most prominent market in the AI space, Taiwan, is closed for the Lunar New Year holiday,Overnight in the U.S., the S&P 500 moved higher, supported by gains in key technology names, as traders weighed the release of the minutes from the Federal Reserve's most recent policy meeting.The broad-based index climbed 0.56% to end at 6,881.31, while the Nasdaq Composite added 0.78% to settle at 22,753.63.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.26% to close at 49,662.66.—CNBC's Sean Conlon and Pia Singh contributed to this report. Got a confidential news tip? We want to hear from you.Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inboxGet this delivered to your inbox, and more info about our products and services.© 2026 Versant Media, LLC.

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