Mixed trading in Asian markets as investors prepare for the new year; Singapore’s annual GDP growth reached 4 percent

Asian stocks were mixed on Thursday as several major markets resumed trading after the New Year break.

South Korea’s Kospi index rose 0.34 percent, while the KOSDAQ gained 1.23 percent. Opens an hour later. More than usual, because of the opening ceremony of the new year.

The country’s central bank governor Ri Chang-yong said in a statement New Year’s Speech Monetary policy will be “conducted with flexibility and agility” in the face of “unprecedented increases in political and economic uncertainty,” it released Thursday.

The Bank of Korea, which Delivered Back-to-back rate deduction – For the first time since 2009 – is set to announce its next interest rate decision later this month.

Mainland China’s CSI 300 fell 0.48% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 1.75%.

of Australia S&P/ASX 200 increased by 0.35 percent,

Markets in Japan will be closed on Thursday and Friday.

Traders in Asia also looked at Singapore’s gross domestic product data. Based on preliminary estimates, the economy Expanded by 4.3% year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2024, slower than the 5.4 percent growth in the previous quarter.

Advance GDP estimates are mostly compiled based on data from the first two months of the quarter and are revised when more data becomes available. According to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

Annual economic growth is expected to reach 4 percent in 2024, compared with 1.1 percent in 2023, according to official data released Thursday.

China’s Caixin/S&P Global Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index for December is on tap. Economists had expected manufacturing activity to come in at 51.7, up slightly from 51.5 in November, according to LSEG data.

Comes a day after private survey Official PMI in December missed expectations.Coming to 50.1.

U.S. stock futures were little changed as traders braced for a new year after double-digit annual gains for all three major indexes in 2024.

Futures linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were flat, while S&P 500 futures increased by 0.06 percent, Nasdaq 100 futures Advanced 0.17%

The S&P 500 recorded an annual gain of more than 20% for the second year in a row, jumping 23.31% last year to a 24.2% gain in 2023. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 12.88% while the Nasdaq gained 28.64%.

— CNBC’s Christina Cheddarberk contributed to this report.