SoftBank rises 6% as Japanese tech stocks track gains in U.S. peers

SoftBank led gains in Japanese tech-related stocks Wednesday, tracking Wall Street peers, and boosting the Nikkei 225.

Tech-focused investment major SoftBank rose more than 6%, snapping a three-session streak of losses. Japan’s Tokyo Electron, which provides essential chipmaking equipment to foundries that manufacture Nvidia chips, rose more than 4%; chip equipment maker Lasertec added as much as 7%, and chipmaker Renesas Electronics advanced more than 6%. Semiconductor testing equipment supplier Advantest also gained as much as 5%.

The Nikkei led gains in Asia, closing 1.14% higher at 49,864.68. The broad-based Topix fell 0.2% to 3,334.32.

Bitcoin climbed over 7% to cross the $90,000 mark in overnight trading, recovering from sharp sell-off. It was trading 3% higher at $93,894.45 in Asia trading Wednesday.

South Korea’s Kospi rose 1.04% to 4,036.3, while the small-cap Kosdaq ended 0.39% higher at 932.01.

The country’s revised third-quarter GDP numbers indicated that country’s economy grew at 1.8% year on year, compared to 1.7% in the initial estimate, data from the central bank showed Wednesday.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung also addressed the country on the first anniversary of former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s failed attempt to declare martial law.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.18% to close at 8,595.2. The country’s third-quarter GDP data missed estimates on Wednesday, but clocked it strongest growth in about two years.

The country’s GDP expanded 2.1% year on year, marking its strongest expansion since the third quarter of 2023, but fell short of the 2.2% expected by economists polled by Reuters.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index declined 1.28% to 25,760.73, while the mainland CSI 300 fell 0.51% to 4,531.05.

India’s Nifty 50 fell 0.48%, while the BSE Sensex index declined 0.32%. The Indian rupee weakened for a fifth straight day, and was trading about 0.30% lower at 90.157.

U.S. stock futures were little changed during early Asia hours after major U.S. indexes recovered some losses from the previous session.

Overnight in the U.S., the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.39%, while the S&P 500 climbed 0.25% and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.59%.

—CNBC’s Sean Conlon and Pia Singh contributed to this report.