Other folks watch the primary first light of the brand new yr from a footbridge overlooking the town skyline in Seoul on January 1, 2024. Jung Yeon-je | Afp | Getty ImagesAsia-Pacific markets opened most commonly upper on Thursday, as traders assess flash trade process knowledge from Australia, Japan and India right through the buying and selling day.The Financial institution of Korea has additionally held its benchmark rate of interest at 3.5%, in step with expectancies, however investors will watch the language utilized in its press unlock later to look if any coverage easing is at the playing cards.This comes after the Federal Reserve launched mins for its July assembly, the place the abstract published that some contributors made the case to ease charges on the July assembly as an alternative of September.On the other hand, “the overwhelming majority” of contributors on the July 30-31 assembly “noticed that, if the information persisted to come back in about as anticipated, it could most likely be suitable to ease coverage on the subsequent assembly,” the abstract mentioned.Japan’s Nikkei 225 used to be 0.79% upper, whilst the wide primarily based Topix used to be up 0.29%. Japan’s trade process expanded at a sooner tempo in August, with the composite buying managers index mountain climbing to 53.0 from July’s 52.5.The rustic’s production sector swung again to expansion, whilst its services and products sector noticed a sooner growth.South Korea’s Kospi used to be 0.23% up, however the small-cap Kosdaq dropped 0.25%.Hong Kong’s Cling Seng index futures had been at 17,514, upper than the HSI’s final shut of 17,391.01.Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.34%, after the rustic’s flash composite buying managers index in August higher to 51.4 from 49.9 the month ahead of, attaining a three-month prime and underpinned via emerging services and products process, Judo Financial institution mentioned.Within the U.S., all 3 primary benchmarks won after the Fed mins bolstered hope for decrease charges within the close to long run.The S&P 500 added 0.42%, bringing the benchmark inside of 1% of its all-time document shut. The tech heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.57%, and the Dow Jones Commercial Reasonable ticked up via 0.14%.—CNBC’s Alex Harring and Samantha Subin contributed to this file.