Kospi leads Asian shares higher after Wall Street's near-record close

S&P 500 closed Wednesday at 7,748.5, just shy of a record

Asian shares were mostly higher in early trading Thursday, with South Korea’s Kospi surging sharply as the strongest performer among the region’s major benchmarks, according to The Associated Press.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 climbed in early trading, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng edged higher and the Shanghai Composite gained.

The regional move tracked a Wall Street session Wednesday that closed just shy of a record. The S&P 500 stood at 7,748.5. Several AI companies reported growth through the spring that beat analysts’ expectations, and a separate U.S. report showed inflation eased slightly from the prior month.

The AP report was filed by Yuri Kageyama.