TOKYO – Asian shares mostly rose Tuesday, deriving optimism from rising technology stocks on Wall Street, led by Nvidia.
Today, Japan’s Nikkei 225 surged by 2.4% to 40,248.68 during morning trading. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 also saw a slight increase of 0.3% to reach 8,279.30. Similarly, South Korea’s Kospi went up by nearly 1.0% to settle at 2,513.39. On the other hand, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index experienced a minor decline of 0.3% to 19,635.67, while the Shanghai Composite remained relatively stable, decreasing by less than 0.1% to 3,205.55.
Nippon Steel, facing obstacles in its bid to acquire U.S. Steel due to opposition from the Biden administration, witnessed a 1.5% drop in Tokyo trading. This decline occurred shortly after the company’s CEO expressed determination to proceed with the acquisition despite the challenges.
Conversely, U.S. Steel recorded an 8.1% increase in its stock price following a legal move it made with Japan’s Nippon Steel. The companies jointly filed a lawsuit in federal court contesting President Joe Biden’s ruling to block Nippon’s proposed purchase of its Pittsburgh-based competitor, valued at nearly $15 billion.
The suit, filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, alleges it was a political decision. Japanese leaders have also said there is scant evidence the merger poses a security concern for the U.S.
Investors are also watching for possible policy changes under incoming President Donald Trump, whose term is beginning soon, said Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management.
“The convergence of these financial indicators points to a heightened alert among traders, who carefully calibrate their strategies for potential shifts in policy and economic directives that the new administration may bring,” he said.
U.S. indexes recovered more of their holiday-season slide that bridged the new year. The S&P 500 added 0.6% for a second straight gain following five straight losses, its longest losing streak since April. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost an early gain to slip 25 points, or 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite gained 1.2%.
Slightly more stocks fell in the S&P 500 than rose amid the mixed trading. Tech companies were the clear leaders, including those swept up in the frenzy around artificial-intelligence technology.
Nvidia climbed 3.4% to top its record set in November ahead of a speech by CEO Jensen Huang at the annual CES convention in Las Vegas after trading ended for the day.
Nvidia and other AI stocks keep climbing even as criticism rises that their stock prices have already shot too high, too fast. Despite worries about a potential bubble, the industry continues to talk up its potential.
Uber Technologies drove 2.7% higher after the ride-hailing app said it would accelerate $1.5 billion in purchases of its own stock, part of a previously announced $7 billion buyback program.
All told, the S&P 500 rose 32.91 points to 5,975.38. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 25.57 to 42,706.56, and the Nasdaq composite jumped 243.30 to 19,864.98.
The New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq will close their stock and options markets on Thursday in observance of a National Day of Mourning for former President Jimmy Carter.
But in a potentially market-moving event later in the week, the Federal Reserve will release the minutes from its last policy meeting, where it cut its main interest rate for a third straight time.
The monthly jobs report, along with an update on how U.S. consumers are feeling, are set for Friday. So far, the economy has remained remarkably resilient. The Fed began cutting interest rates in September after inflation pulled nearly all the way down to its 2% target.
Getting the last percentage point of improvement from inflation may prove more difficult. Worries are also rising that tariffs and other policies coming from President-elect Donald Trump could put upward pressure on inflation.
That’s caused worries about rates staying higher than expected, and longer-term Treasury yields have climbed in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury was at 4.61%, up from 4.60% late Friday.
In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude declined 33 cents to $73.23 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, fell 28 cents to $76.02 a barrel.
In currency trading, the U.S. dollar rose to 158.29 Japanese yen from 157.58 yen. The euro cost $1.0381, down from $1.0392.
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AP Business Writer Stan Choe contributed. Yuri Kageyama is on Threads https://www.threads.net/@yurikageyama
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