Asia-Pacific markets rose on Wednesday, following an overnight rally on Wall Street led by chipmaker NVIDIA.
By 11:15 am AEST (1:15 am GMT), Australia's S&P/ASX 200 had gained 0.7%, while Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.5%. South Korea’s Kospi 200 also surged 2.4%.
The momentum followed a positive session in the United States on Tuesday, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.5%, the S&P 500 rose 0.6%, and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.8%.
NVIDIA jumped 2.8%, continuing Monday’s gains and pushing the chipmaker's market capitalisation ahead of Microsoft’s for the first time since January.
Investors are now turning their attention to Australia's gross domestic product (GDP), as quarterly growth slowed to 0.2% according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), below expectations of a 0.4% expansion.
In commodities, Brent crude rebounded 1.6% to US$65.63 per barrel, while spot gold slipped 0.8% from recent three-week highs to $3,353.39 per ounce.
In China, equities advanced modestly. The Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.4% to 3,362.0 and the CSI 300 gained 0.3% to 3,852.0. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index outperformed, rising 1.5% to 23,512.5.
Meanwhile, India’s BSE Sensex bucked the regional trend, slipping 0.8% to 80,737.5.
European stocks also opened higher, tracking Wall Street’s lead. London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.2% to 8,787.0, Germany’s DAX climbed 0.7% to 24,091.6, and France’s CAC 40 added 0.3% to 7,763.8.
