Asia report: Markets mostly higher, SoftBank slides on Nvidia stake sale

(Sharecast News) - Asia-Pacific equities traded mostly higher on Wednesday, following a mixed session on Wall Street as investors assessed signs that the record US government shutdown could soon end while rotation out of technology shares weighed on the Nasdaq. The Dow Jones Industrial Average hit another record close overnight, but the Nasdaq Composite lagged amid weakness in major tech names.

Patrick Munnelly, market strategy partner at TickMill, said that "Asian stocks advanced alongside Treasury bonds as weaker-than-expected US employment figures fuelled optimism that the Federal Reserve might lower interest rates soon."

He added that "the MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained, with tech shares bouncing back from earlier dips," mirroring gains in US futures after "Advanced Micro Devices jumped 4.8% in after-hours trading, driven by upbeat sales growth forecasts."

Tokyo shares rise, SoftBank plunges on Nvidia stake sale

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.43% to 51,063.31, supported by strong gains in Mitsui Kinzoku, up 23.27%, JGC Holdings, which climbed 11.27%, and Nexon, advancing 8.52%.

The broader Topix gained 1.14% to 3,359.33.

Munnelly noted that "in Tokyo, the Topix index climbed 1%, hitting a new all-time high," even as SoftBank Group experienced a sharp sell-off after unloading its Nvidia stake.

"This impressive performance came even as SoftBank Group experienced a sharp drop of up to 10%, bringing its monthly losses to around 25% after announcing the sale of its entire Nvidia stake on Tuesday," he said.

"Despite the decline, he pointed out that "SoftBank, Japan's leading tech investment giant, has seen its shares more than double in value this year."

SoftBank shares fell after the conglomerate disclosed it had sold its entire stake in US chipmaker Nvidia for $5.83bn.

The sale, part of SoftBank's strategy to fund its growing investment in OpenAI, came alongside a reduction in its T-Mobile holdings, raising a total of $9.17bn.

In China, mainland markets slipped as the Shanghai Composite edged down 0.07% to 4,000.14 and the Shenzhen Component fell 0.36% to 13,240.62.

Losses were led by sharp declines in Beijing Worldia Diamond Tools, down 11.12%, Jiangsu Chengxing Phosph-Chemical, off 10%, and Jiangsu Shemar Electric, also down 10%.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained 0.85% to 26,922.73, buoyed by property and healthcare stocks.

China Resources Mixc Lifestyle rose 6.32%, Sun Hung Kai Properties advanced 5.38%, and JD Health International added 5.29%.

South Korea's Kospi climbed 1.07% to 4,150.39, led by a 29.95% jump in Doosan Solus, an 18.41% rise in Korea Circuit, and a 15.84% gain in Korea Petro Chemical.

Official data showed the country's unemployment rate rose slightly to 2.6% in October from 2.5% previously, marking the first increase in three months.

Analysts said the uptick reflected a cooling economy and could influence the Bank of Korea's monetary policy stance, especially as inflation eased to 2.8% last month.

Munnelly said broader sentiment was supported by progress in Washington.

"The US government is making progress toward ending the shutdown, with a proposed bill set to provide a vote on expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies next month," he said.

"The bill also includes temporary funding for the government through at least the end of January, covering the holiday season, and extended funding for certain agencies, such as the FDA and military construction projects, until next September."

However, he cautioned that "while this progress is encouraging, the ongoing data vacuum persists," forcing markets to rely on private reports like ADP's new weekly jobs release.

Aussie bourse declines, Wellington in the green

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.22% to 8,799.50, weighed by steep losses in Life360, which fell 13.08%, Aristocrat Leisure, down 7.52%, and Zip Co, off 5.43%.

In New Zealand, the S&P/NZX 50 rose 0.49% to 13,671.73, supported by gains in Mainfreight, up 6.8%, Serko, which climbed 6.12%, and KMD Brands, advancing 3.57%.

Dollar gains on the yen, oil prices in the red

In currency markets, the US dollar strengthened 0.47% against the yen to JPY 154.88, slipped 0.06% against the Australian dollar to AUD 1.5311, and edged 0.01% higher against the New Zealand dollar to NZD 1.7684.

In commodities, Brent crude futures were last down 0.63% on ICE at $64.75 per barrel, while the NYMEX quote for West Texas Intermediate declined 0.67% to $60.63.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.