TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares mostly rose Tuesday, deriving optimism from rising technology stocks on Wall Street, led by Nvidia.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 jumped 2.2% to 40,164.53. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 edged up 0.3% to 8,285.10. South Korea’s Kospi added 0.4% to 2,497.75.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index slid 1.9% to 19,316.53 as shares in technology and games company Tencent plunged 7.8% after it was hit by U.S. sanctions.
The Shanghai Composite edged 0.1% higher to 3,209.94.
Nippon Steel, whose attempt to take over U.S. Steel is being blocked by the Biden administration, slid 1.5% in Tokyo trading, shortly after its chief executive vowed to keep pushing the deal.
U.S. Steel climbed 8.1% overnight after it and Japan’s Nippon Steel filed a federal lawsuit challenging President Joe Biden’s decision to block a proposed nearly $15 billion deal for Nippon to buy its Pittsburgh-based rival.
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 a holiday-season slide that bridged the new year. The S&P 500 added 0.6% to 5,795.38 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 0.1% to 42,706.56, and the Nasdaq composite gained 1.2% to 19,864.98.
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 have kept climbing despite concern 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.
