Japanese tech-focused stocks saw strong gains Wednesday, driven by SoftBank and following Wall Street trends.
The Nikkei 225 rose sharply, reflecting investor optimism in the technology sector.
Tech Sector Momentum
SoftBank jumped more than 8%, snapping a three-session losing streak. Tokyo Electron, which supplies critical chipmaking equipment for Nvidia, rose over 5%.
Lasertec advanced as much as 7%, while Renesas Electronics gained more than 7%.
Semiconductor testing equipment supplier Advantest also rose about 5%. The Nikkei led gains in Asia, up 1.54%, while the broader Topix index showed marginal losses.
Bitcoin climbed over 7% overnight, surpassing the $90,000 mark, last trading at $92,980.01.
Regional Market Overview
South Korea’s Kospi rose 1.06%, while the small-cap Kosdaq reversed earlier gains to fall 0.14%.
Revised third-quarter GDP data showed South Korea’s economy grew 1.8% year-on-year, compared to an initial 1.7% estimate.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung also addressed the nation on the first anniversary of former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s failed martial law attempt.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.11% despite third-quarter GDP missing expectations.
The economy expanded 2.1% year-on-year, marking its strongest growth since Q3 2023 but falling short of the 2.2% forecast by economists.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index traded 0.95% lower, while the mainland CSI 300 hovered near flat.
India’s Nifty 50 fell 0.48%, and the BSE Sensex declined 0.32%.
The Indian rupee weakened for a fifth straight day, trading about 0.30% lower at 90.157.
U.S. stock futures were mostly unchanged during early Asia hours after recovery in major indexes overnight.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.39%, the S&P 500 climbed 0.25%, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.59% in the previous session.
