Cherry blossom trees bloom near Nippon Budokan on Sunday, April 7, 2024 in Tokyo, Japan.
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Asia-Pacific stocks mostly higher S&P 500 Index Artificial intelligence chip company Nvidia surpasses, hits new high Microsoft As the most valuable listed company.
The chipmaker’s shares rose 3.5% overnight on Wall Street and have soared 174% since the start of the year. The broader market index rose 0.25% to close at 5,487.03 points, and the Nasdaq rose 0.03% to close at 17,862.23 points.
Asian traders will focus on Japan’s trade data for May, which showed exports beating expectations. Exports rose 13.5% year-on-year, while economists polled by Reuters expected a 13% increase. However, import volume increased by 9.5% compared with the same period last year, lower than the expected 10.4% growth.
Separately, investors will assess the Reuters Tankan Index, which showed business confidence among Japan’s largest manufacturers fell to +6 from +9 in May. On the other hand, non-manufacturer business confidence climbed to +31 from +26 in May.
The Tankan measures the business confidence of Japanese companies, with a positive number meaning there are more optimists than pessimists, and vice versa.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index rose 0.61%, while the Topix edged up 0.56%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell slightly.
Korean Cospi rose nearly 1%, while the Kosdaq index of small-cap stocks gained 0.27%.
Hongkong Hang Seng Index The futures index was at 18,003 points, higher than the Hang Seng Index’s last closing point of 17,915.55 points.
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