Japanese stocks ended Wednesday’s trading session higher, buoyed by gains on Wall Street and investor optimism regarding Nvidia’s upcoming earnings.
This came amid anticipation of U.S. inflation data that could determine the course of monetary policy.
The Nikkei index rose 0.62%, closing at 66,262.16 points.
It had started the session on a downward trend.
Similarly, the broader Topix index rose 0.42% to 4,111.02 points.
Investors are awaiting Nvidia’s earnings announcement after U.S. markets close, looking for signs of continued growth in the artificial intelligence sector.
This sector has driven the rise in global stocks in recent times.
Yoshitaka Aratani of Monex Securities noted that the anticipation of these results may temporarily limit gains in the Japanese market.
In this context, SoftBank Group shares rose 1.49%, benefiting from the optimism surrounding AI companies.
Markets are also awaiting the release of the U.S. Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index.
This is the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation.
A weak reading for the index could reinforce expectations that interest rates will remain unchanged.
Mitsubishi Materials led the gainers with a 5.95% rise.
Meanwhile, Advantest shares rose 3.63%. In contrast, Sumco shares fell 3.90%.
This marked the biggest loss on the Nikkei index.
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