Asian equities saw modest gains in light Lunar New Year trading as Wall Street rebounded, primarily driven by technology stocks. This uptick followed a reduction in concerns surrounding the Chinese AI firm DeepSeek.
With most Asian markets closed for the holiday season, investors turned their attention to the Federal Reserve’s upcoming interest rate announcement scheduled for later today.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 bounced back from Tuesday’s declines, increasing by 0.7% to reach 39,273.49 points.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 also climbed by 0.7% to 8,455.70 after the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported that the Consumer Price Index rose by 0.2% in the December 2024 quarter. This marks the smallest inflation increase since the June 2020 quarter, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, India’s Sensex rose by 0.5%, while Thailand’s SET index dipped by 0.2%.
On Tuesday, technology stocks recovered after experiencing a downturn on Monday amid uncertainties about the sustainability of the current artificial intelligence boom and the substantial investments being funneled into it.
The S&P 500 increased by 0.9% to 6,067.70, recovering more than half of its previous loss. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 0.3% to 44,850.35, and the Nasdaq Composite surged 2% to 19,733.59, rebounding from a 3.1% drop the day before.
Nvidia remained in the spotlight, as its chips are integral to the AI surge and its stock has come to represent the broader excitement in the sector. Nvidia’s shares jumped 8.8% after falling nearly 17% on Monday, marking its largest decline since the COVID-19 crash in 2020.
