Asia-Pacific markets higher as tech stocks regionally rise

SINGAPORE — Shares in Asia-Pacific rose in Tuesday trade, with tech stocks in the region jumping following similar gains overnight for their counterparts on Wall Street.

In mainland China, the Shanghai composite edged 0.7% higher by the afternoon while the Shenzhen component was up 0.926%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index climbed 1.18%.

The Nikkei 225 in Japan gained 0.67% while the Topix index advanced 0.39%. South Korea’s Kospi climbed 0.66%.

Shares in Australia were also higher, with the S&P/ASX 200 up 0.18%. Minutes from the Reserve Bank of Australia’s October monetary policy meeting showed the RBA expecting the Australian economy to “return to growth in the December quarter and to its pre-Delta path in the second half of 2022.”

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gained 0.99% higher.

Tech stocks in Asia rose in Tuesday trade, with the Hang Seng Tech index in Hong Kong jumping 2.25%. Hong Kong-listed shares of Alibaba and Meituan climbed 1.29% and 2.07% respectively.

Japanese conglomerate Softbank Group also saw its stock soaring 3.01% while shares South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix advanced 0.62%.

Investors also monitored Apple supplier shares in Asia after the Cupertino-based tech giant announced new products on Monday.

In Japan, shares of Taiyo Yuden fell 2.21% while Murata Manufacturing slipped 0.74%.

Elsewhere, shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company in Taiwan jumped 1.36%. Luxshare’s stock in mainland China also surged 7.07%.

Overnight on Wall Street, the S&P 500 gained 0.34% to 4,486.46 while the Nasdaq Composite jumped 0.84% to 15,021.81. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lagged, dipping 36.15 points to 35,258.61.

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 93.686 against an earlier high of 93.947.

The Japanese yen traded at 114.10 per dollar after weakening last week from below 113.4 against the greenback. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7454, above levels below $0.74 seen yesterday.

Oil prices were higher in the afternoon of Asia trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures hovering marginally higher at $84.35 per barrel. U.S. crude futures gained 0.11% to $82.53 per barrel.