Asia-Pacific markets mostly rise; Japan exports top expectations

Asia-Pacific markets mostly rose, on the back of the S&P 500 hitting new highs as artificial intelligence chip firm Nvidia overtakes Microsoft as the most valuable public company.

Shares of the chipmaker jumped 3.5% overnight on Wall Street and have surged 174% since the beginning of the year. The broad market index advanced 0.25% to close at 5,487.03, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.03% to close the trading day at 17,862.23.

Traders in Asia will focus on Japan’s trade data for May, which saw exports beat expectations. Exports grew 13.5% year-on-year compared to a 13% increase expected by economists polled by Reuters. Imports however grew 9.5% compared to the same period last year, missing expectations of a 10.4% gain.

Separately, investors will assess the Reuters Tankan index which showed business confidence among large Japanese manufacturers decreased to +6 from +9 in May. On the flip side, business confidence among non-manufacturers climbed to +31 from +26 in May.

The Tankan measures business confidence among Japanese corporations, and a positive figure means optimists outnumber pessimists and vice versa.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 increased by 0.61%, while the broad-based Topix inched 0.56%.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped marginally.

South Korea’s Kospi gained almost 1%, while the small-cap Kosdaq rose 0.27%.

Hong Kong Hang Seng index futures were at 18,003, higher than the HSI’s last close of 17,915.55.