Traders work at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, the United States, Aug. 2, 2019. Photo: Xinhua

US stocks are set to a rally on the first trading day of the New Year when markets open on Thursday.

China A shares got to a flying 2020 start on Thursday with three major boards surging above 1 percent, boosted by positive sentiment following an announcement from the People's Bank of China, the central bank, on cutting the reserve requirement ratio for banks, which can unleash fresh capital of about 800 billion yuan ($115 billion).

In the Asia-Pacific region, markets in Hong Kong stock and Singapore closed up Thursday, while stock markets in Japan and South Korea closed down.

Boosted by strong fundamentals and cooling of trade war tensions, the three main US indices have a fair chance on ending in positive territory on Thursday.