[MARKET ANALYSIS] Asia-Pac stocks are higher with outperformance in South Korea as tech stocks play catch up on return from the holiday closure

APAC Stocks: Positive

• Asia-Pac stocks trade higher following the positive handover from the US and with South Korea outperforming amid tech strength on return from the Lunar New Year holidays.

ASX 200: +1.1%

• Rallied to a fresh record high with the gains led by strength in telecoms and energy, as the former was boosted alongside Telstra, which reported a 9.3% increase in H1 net profit, while energy stocks benefitted from the rise in underlying oil prices amid geopolitical frictions.

Nikkei 225: +0.8%

• Climbed higher with sentiment underpinned by a weaker currency and much stronger-than-expected Machine Tool Orders.

KOSPI: +2.9%

• Outperforms on return from the Lunar New Year holiday closure as tech stocks play catch-up to the rebound in their US counterparts, including index heavyweight Samsung Electronics, as its shares rallied by around 5% to a record high above KRW 190k.

US Equity Futures: Flat

• Price action is rangebound after the prior day's choppy and ultimately positive performance.

European Equity Futures Flat

• Indicate a flat cash market open with Euro Stoxx 50 futures unchanged after the cash market finished with gains of 1.4% on Wednesday.