Asian equities generally advanced, buoyed by optimism from increasing technology shares on Wall Street.
Japan’s leading Nikkei 225 surged by 2.2% to reach 40,164.53. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 inched up 0.3% to 8,285.10, while South Korea’s Kospi climbed 0.4% to 2,497.75.
Conversely, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index declined by 1.9% to 19,316.53 after Tencent, a major technology and gaming firm, saw its shares drop 7.8% amid US sanctions.
The Shanghai Composite inched slightly higher by 0.1% to 3,209.94.
In Tokyo, Nippon Steel fell 1.5% as its bid to acquire US Steel faces opposition from the Biden administration. This decline followed a statement from the company’s CEO committing to pursue the acquisition.
Meanwhile, US Steel’s shares rose sharply by 8.1% overnight after it, alongside Japan’s Nippon Steel, filed a federal lawsuit contesting President Joe Biden’s blockage of the nearly $15 billion (£12 billion) deal for Nippon to acquire its Pittsburgh-based competitor. The lawsuit, submitted to the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, claims the decision was politically motivated. Japanese officials have also asserted that there is minimal evidence suggesting the merger poses a security threat to the United States.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped slightly by 0.1% to 42,706.56, the S&P 500 increased by 0.6% to 5,975.38, and the Nasdaq Composite rose by 1.2% to 19,864.98.
In the bond markets, the yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury notes climbed to 4.636% last night, up from 4.618% late Friday.
