Asia Market Wrap 4 September: The Nikkei Reclaims 65,000 as 7 of 10 Markets Rise Before US Jobs
Asia bought Wall Street’s relief on Friday. 7 of the 10 benchmarks in this wrap closed higher, on our count, led by Hong Kong’s 1.74 percent, Seoul’s 1.64 and Taipei’s 1.51, after United States stocks rallied and Treasury yields eased on Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller’s openness to a September hold, per our US Market Wrap of 3 September. The Nikkei 225 rose 1.26 percent to 65,020.94, back above 65,000 for the first time since Tuesday against our published closes, with the whole move coming hours before the United States jobs report due at 12:30 GMT.
The relief trade crosses the Pacific
Asian futures had pointed higher overnight as Treasury yields eased, per CNBC, and the cash sessions delivered, with several of the week’s hardest hit markets among the strongest rebounders. The same reporting carried a broader shift behind the move: Waller’s conditional lean toward a hold, tied to the inflation data ahead, now sits alongside similar comments on easing inflation from New York Fed President John Williams, and shorter Treasury maturities have been the main beneficiaries, per an Interactive Brokers note in the same reporting.
Tokyo’s divergence flips
Thursday’s split between Japan’s two boards reversed. The Nikkei 225, which had lagged the Topix as the yen surged, led it on Friday, 1.26 percent against 0.03, as the yen eased 0.38 percent to 156.38 per dollar at the 10:25 GMT capture. That giveback follows a Thursday in which the currency touched 155.28, its strongest since February, per the same reporting, which notes traders weighing both further intervention and rising Bank of Japan rate hike expectations. Japan’s 10 year government yield stood at 2.909 percent at the same 10:25 GMT capture, about 6 basis points below our published Thursday print, on our calculation, so Tokyo’s equity relief came alongside the broader easing in yields that supported risk assets.
Seoul rebuilds, China sits out
The Kospi’s 107.73 point rise means it has now recovered about 46 percent of Wednesday’s roughly 273 point loss, on our calculation against our published closes, and the small cap Kosdaq jumped 2.95 percent to 813.50, per the same reporting. China supplied most of Friday’s weakness, with both mainland boards lower and Australia’s ASX 200 the only other decliner. Oil was not chasing the rally at the capture, with Brent at 95.45 dollars a barrel, 0.07 percent lower, as the same reporting quotes strategists describing Hormuz flows as constrained but ongoing. Gulf exchanges do not trade on Friday; the region’s next session opens Sunday.
| Index | Close | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Hang Seng (Hong Kong) | 25,650.87 | +1.74% |
| Kospi (South Korea) | 6,687.21 | +1.64% |
| Taiex (Taiwan) | 46,551.13 | +1.51% |
| Nikkei 225 (Japan) | 65,020.94 | +1.26% |
| Straits Times (Singapore) | 5,801.96 | +0.94% |
| Nifty 50 (India) | 23,897.70 | +0.10% |
| Topix (Japan) | 4,103.23 | +0.03% |
| S&P/ASX 200 (Australia) | 9,005.90 | -0.16% |
| Shanghai Composite (China) | 3,930.12 | -0.30% |
| Shenzhen Component (China) | 13,516.97 | -0.79% |
Closing levels for the 4 September 2026 session, captured at 10:25 GMT after every market on the board had closed, ranked by change. All 10 previous closes reconcile exactly against our Asia Market Wrap of 3 September, the Taiex against the Taiwan Stock Exchange close we published there. The Nifty 50 row was additionally confirmed on the National Stock Exchange of India’s own closed market page, which shows the same close, change and prior close.
| Instrument | Level | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Dollar/yen | 156.38 | +0.38% |
| US Dollar Index (DXY) | 99.104 | +0.20% |
| Brent crude, ICE (Nov’26) | $95.45 | -0.07% |
| WTI crude, NYMEX (Oct’26) | $90.98 | -0.35% |
| Gold, COMEX (Dec’26) | $4,519.30 | -0.45% |
Intraday quotes from the same 10:25 GMT capture, ranked by change. Futures changes are measured against the prior session’s settlements, so they are settlement to intraday; contract months are those quoted at capture. A rise in dollar/yen is a weaker yen.
Why it matters: Friday’s board is a clean read on what Asia was actually pricing all week: when the yield pressure lifts, the buying returns fastest to the markets that fell hardest, with Seoul, Taipei and Hong Kong at the top and the laggards of the last two days leading the recovery, on our reading. The rotation inside Tokyo makes the mechanism visible in one market, as the exporter heavy Nikkei outran the broad Topix the moment the yen gave back part of its surge. What Asia could not price is the number that lands after its close: much of the region’s session also reflected positioning ahead of the United States jobs report, on our reading.
Outlook: The jobs report at 12:30 GMT today is the immediate test, and Asia reopens Monday with the number already priced into global rates markets; a strong print that revives the Treasury selloff would take back Friday’s yield relief, on our reading. The Bank of Japan’s 17 and 18 September meeting keeps the yen at the centre of the Tokyo trade, with the same reporting carrying both intervention watch and rate hike expectations into it. For Seoul, the question is whether a 46 percent retracement of Wednesday’s fall becomes a full one.
Sources: CNBC, National Stock Exchange of India, The Edge.
