China’s CSI 300 index climbed 2.34% to end at 3,414.54, extending gains to the second day and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index jumped 2.54%, also increasing for the second day

China and Hong Kong markets led a rally in Asia stocks on Thursday, while Australia shares ended near two-year highs.

China’s CSI 300 index climbed 2.34% to end at 3,414.54, extending gains to the second day.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index jumped 2.54%, also increasing for the second day. Hong Kong is still the worst performing large Asia-Pacific market in 2023, down around 14%.

All major Hang Seng sectors were higher by afternoon trading.

Markets including Australia and Hong Kong resumed trading Wednesday after a Christmas break, both closing higher, while China stocks were boosted by a bounce back in online gaming stocks.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index ended 0.70% higher at 7,614.30, at its highest level since late April 2022. The index is set to close the year higher at 7.7%.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed down 0.42% at 33,539.62, after ending more than 1% higher in the earlier session. The broader Topix index closed down 0.14% at 2,362.02, cooling off after four consecutive sessions of gains.

Retail sales data from Japan showed a 5.3% growth in November.

South Korea’s Kospi was 1.60% higher closing at 2,655.28, building on gains from the previous session. The small-cap Kosdaq ended 0.79% higher at 866.57.

Overnight, U.S. stocks closed higher Wednesday as traders kept an eye on the S&P 500′s rise toward record levels.

The S&P 500 rose 0.14%, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.16%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 111.19 points, or 0.3%, to end at 37,656.52.

The Dow notched a new closing high, while the S&P 500 closed less than 0.5% off of its closing record of 4,796.56 set in January 2022. Along with the Dow and Nasdaq, the S&P is also enjoying an eight-week winning streak — its longest since 2017.