Asia-Pacific markets advanced Thursday after Wall Street gained overnight as Fed rate-cut hopes rose and tech stocks rebounded.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 1.42%, led by tech stocks, while the Topix index added 0.64%. Among the top movers were Advantest , which jumped as much as 5%, tech conglomerate SoftBank , which soared more than 5%, and Tokyo Electron , which was up 2.09%.

South Korea's Kospi advanced 1.05%, while the small-cap Kosdaq climbed 0.39%. The Bank of Korea kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 2.5% — in line with expectations — for a fourth consecutive policy meeting, amid a weakened local currency and overheated housing market. The Korean won has weakened against the greenback in recent months to its lowest leve

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