In South Korea turmoil, PBOC cuts rate

Asia-Pacific markets opened higher on Friday, beating Wall Street peers that ended lower in the first trading session of 2025, weighed down by technology stocks.

The People’s Bank of China is reportedly planning to cut interest rates “at an appropriate time” this year This is reported by the Financial Times with reference to the comment of the National Bank. The country’s 7-day reverse repo rate currently set at 1.5%.

In addition, China’s Ministry of Commerce plans to impose export restrictions on certain technologies used to make battery components and to process critical minerals such as lithium and gallium. the notice was issued on Thursday.

Investors in Asia will continue to assess political uncertainty in South Korea as the country’s anti-corruption agency seeks to execute an arrest warrant for impeached President Yoon Suk-yeol. according to local media Yonhap News. Yun’s short-lived attempt to impose martial law on December 3 led to political upheaval in the country.

South Korea Kospi index rose 1.41%, while the small-cap Kosdaq rose 1.33%.

Australia S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.28% at the open.

Hong Kong Hang Seng Index Futures pointed to a lower open of 19,610, below the index’s last close of 19,623.32.

Japanese markets remain closed for the holiday.

Three major U.S. indexes ended the first trading session of the new year lower, extending the weakness they’ve endured since the end of 2024, signaling that markets may not see a “Santa Claus rally” this year.

Investors relied on a “Santa Claus Action” which covers the last five trading days of the year and the first two trading days of the following January. During that time period, the S&P 500 rose an average of 1.3%, while ending higher nearly 80% of the time, according to Dow Jones market data dating back to 1950.

Night in the state, blue chips Dow Jones industrial index lost 151.95 points, or 0.36%, to end at 42,392.27, while S&P 500 down 0.22% to 5,868.55 and tech Nasdaq Composite fell 0.16% to 19,280.79.

It marked the fifth straight session in the red for the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, their longest losing streak since April. Major tech stocks weighed on the market, with Apple down 2.6% and Tesla down 6% on lower annual shipments.

— CNBC’s Jesse Pound and Christina Cheddar Burke contributed to this report.