Markets in the Asia-Pacific region are expected to open higher, following the continued record run of the Nasdaq and S&P 500 in the United States. The focus will be on Hong Kong and Australian data.

• Business activity and trade data from Hong Kong and Australia are eagerly anticipated by investors on Thursday.
• The predicted trade surplus of Australia is expected to decrease from AU$6.5 billion to AU$6.3 billion.

The Asia-Pacific markets are expected to increase on Thursday morning as investors evaluate the soft economic information from the U.S. and the shortened trading session, with the and rising to new heights.

Business activity and trade data from Hong Kong and Australia are also being anticipated by investors on Thursday.

The predicted trade surplus of Australia is expected to decrease from AU$ 6.5 billion to AU$ 6.3 billion.

The S&P/ASX 200 for Australia finished higher at 7,802, compared to its previous close of 7,739.9.

The futures market in Japan is expected to open higher, with the Chicago futures contract at 40,760 and the Osaka futures contract at 40,700, compared to the previous close of 40,580.76.

The HSI's last close of 17,978.57 was lower than Hong Kong futures, which stood at 18,012.

In the U.S., the S&P 500 gained 0.51% and closed at 5,537.02, while the Nasdaq Composite increased by 0.88% to finish at 18,188.30, with tech giants such as Tesla and Nvidia experiencing growth.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.06% to finish at 39,308, due to a decline in.

—CNBC's Alex Harring and Hakyung Kim contributed to this report.