Asian Stock Markets on the Rise, American Investors Awaiting

TOKYO — Asian stocks mostly rose on Wednesday in trade closely watched by experts. This came as U.S. stock indices rebounded again after last week's volatility.

U.S. futures showed a slight increase while oil prices fell. Japan's benchmark index, the Nikkei 225, rose by 0.4% to reach 51,063.31 points.

Meanwhile, shares of SoftBank Group fell by 3.5%, dropping as much as 9% during the day. The company announced on Tuesday that it had sold all its stake in artificial intelligence chip firm Nvidia for $5.83 billion and used those funds for other investments.

Investors are questioning whether interest in artificial intelligence stocks will continue to grow. The extraordinary rise of these stocks has been one of the main reasons the U.S. market has reached record highs despite a slowing labor market and still high inflation. However, the soaring prices have been likened by critics to the dot-com bubble of 2000, which led to a nearly 50% drop in the S&P 500 when it burst.

In other regions of Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose by 0.8% to 26,913.90, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.1% to reach 4,006.17. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index fell by 0.2% to 8,799.50, while South Korea’s Kospi index increased by 1.1% to 4,151.36.

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 rose by 0.2% to reach 6,846.61 points. The market has shown a volatile course following a sharp recovery on Monday after its first losses from the previous week. The Dow Jones Index increased by 1.2%, achieving an all-time high closing level of 47,927.96, surpassing its record from two weeks ago. However, the Nasdaq Composite Index fell by 0.3% to 23,468.30; this decline was exacerbated by a 3% decrease in Nvidia shares. Investors are concerned that stocks within artificial intelligence derivatives are overvalued.

One of the companies driving market movements was Paramount Skydance; its share prices rose by 9.8%. This occurred despite the entertainment giant's latest quarterly report falling short of Wall Street's expectations. FedEx also attracted attention with a 5.4% increase; the company raised its profit forecast for the current quarter and expects profits from this year's holiday season as well.

In the U.S. bond market, no trading occurred due to the Veterans Day holiday. The situation has been made more difficult for the Federal Reserve as the U.S. government's shutdown has delayed significant updates in labor and other economic areas. The Senate moved to end the longest-running shutdown, but this is not yet finalized.

In energy trading, U.S. crude oil fell by $0.21 to $60.83 per barrel. The international benchmark Brent oil also dipped to $64.95.

In currency trading, the U.S. dollar rose to 154.67 Japanese yen, while the Euro was trading at $1.1583.