Asian stock markets exhibited mixed results on Wednesday as Wall Street experienced a more stable session, marked by a stabilization in both bond yields and bitcoin prices. U.S. futures showed signs of optimism, and oil prices made slight gains.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index surged by 1.6%, closing at 50,063.65. This increase was largely attributed to significant gains among technology stocks. Notably, shares of Tokyo Electron soared by 5.6%, while Advantest, known for its computer chip testing equipment, jumped by 6.9%. SoftBank Group Corp. also saw a dramatic rise of over 8%. This surge followed news that founder Masayoshi Son expressed regret over the sale of shares in computer chip maker Nvidia, a transaction that amounted to $5.8 billion last month.
Conversely, South Korea’s Kospi index rose by 1.2% to reach 4,042.40, buoyed by tech stock performance, with Samsung Electronics climbing 1.8%. In contrast, Chinese markets faced declines driven by disappointing factory activity data. The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong dropped by 1.1% to 25,797.24, while the Shanghai Composite index fell by 0.3% to 3,885.36. Meanwhile, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 saw a marginal gain of 0.2%, ending at 8,595.20.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 experienced a slight increase of 0.2%, finishing at 6,829.37, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.4%, closing at 47,474.46. The Nasdaq composite saw an uptick of 0.6% to reach 23,413.67. Boeing was a standout performer, soaring by 10.1% after Chief Financial Officer Jay Malave indicated expectations for growth in cash production metrics for the coming year. MongoDB also significantly contributed to the market uptick, with its shares skyrocketing by 22.2% on the back of stronger-than-expected quarterly results, offsetting a 6.8% drop for Signet Jewelers, which issued a cautious revenue forecast for the holiday season.
Market sentiment was further influenced by comments from Procter & Gamble’s CFO, who reported troubling signs about the spending power of U.S. consumers, particularly among lower-income households facing rising prices. While the overall U.S. economy seems to be holding up, the disparity between wealthier households and those struggling is growing.
In the bond markets, Treasury yields leveled off after previous climbs. The 10-year Treasury yield dipped slightly to 4.08%, and the two-year yield decreased to 3.51%. The volatility in yields follows hints from the Bank of Japan about a potential interest rate hike, anticipated at its next meeting in mid-December. Analysts caution that failing to raise rates could drive investors to sell off the Japanese yen, while expectations remain for the Federal Reserve to cut rates in its upcoming meeting to support a slowing job market.
Meanwhile, bitcoin rebounded to approximately $94,000 after a fall below $85,000 earlier in the week, as bond yields settled. Oil prices saw minor increases, with U.S. benchmark crude oil rising by three cents to $58.67 per barrel and Brent crude climbing four cents to $62.49 per barrel. Additionally, the U.S. dollar slipped against the Japanese yen, trading at 155.68 compared to 155.87 yen, while the euro rose to $1.1645 from $1.1626.
