Japan’s Nikkei 225 gains 1.9% on trade data boosted by weak yen
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 1.9% to 67,511.12, the Associated Press reported, after the government released data showing that both imports and exports rose last month from a year earlier. The weakening yen raised the value of both figures when converted from dollars to yen, according to the AP.
Elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific region, South Korea’s Kospi surged 4.6% to 7,061.36. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.4%, closing at 8,830.60. The Shanghai Composite gained nearly 0.5% to 3,882.95.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 climbed 0.9% to close at 7,509.20, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 385 points, or 0.7%, to 52,224.64, and the Nasdaq composite rose 1.3% to 25,837.21, according to the Associated Press and FRED data. More gains for makers of computer chips and other companies benefiting from the artificial-intelligence boom carried U.S. equities higher, the AP reported.
AI stocks were once again at the center of the action, rising for a second straight day after tumbling the week before, the AP reported. The stocks have come under pressure in recent weeks on worries they shot too high after rocketing higher because of the boom in investment in AI chips and data centers, according to the wire service. The overall gains were moderate given concerns about higher oil prices and inflation, the AP said.