Asian stocks climbed on Wednesday, led by a rebound in Hong Kong’s technology sector, while Japan’s market was mixed as a slump in SoftBank offset gains from Sony.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 1%, reaching its highest level in a month, supported by strong gains in tech and healthcare stocks. JD Health surged 5.8%, Alibaba Health jumped 3.6%, and Xiaomi advanced 3.8% after data showed its YU7 electric vehicle outsold Tesla’s Model Y in China for the first time — boosting investor confidence in the EV sector.
Mainland Chinese markets were flat, with both the CSI 300 and Shanghai Composite little changed, as investors digested reports that Beijing may restrict rare-earth exports to the U.S. military amid escalating tech tensions.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 was unchanged as SoftBank tumbled 10% after reports it had sold its entire stake in NVIDIA, offsetting a 3% rise in Sony, which posted strong quarterly earnings and raised its full-year forecast. Gains in cyclical stocks lifted the broader TOPIX Index by 1%.
Elsewhere, South Korea’s KOSPI gained 0.8%, Australia’s ASX 200 added 0.2%, and Singapore’s Straits Times Index edged up 0.3%. India’s Nifty 50 slipped 0.2% after three straight days of gains.
U.S. S&P 500 futures rose 0.2% in early Asian trading as optimism grew that Congress could vote this week to end the prolonged government shutdown, improving global risk sentiment.