TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were trading mixed Wednesday following a rally on Wall Street, despite concerns about higher oil prices and inflation. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 0.2% to finish at 66,115.60, after the government reported that both imports and exports rose last month from a year earlier, as the weakening yen raised the value of both when converted from dollars to yen. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.3% to 8,823.00. South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.7% to 6,797.70. The Hang Seng dipped 1.1% to 24,866.67, while the Shanghai Composite was little changed, slipping less than 0.1% to 3,861.82. More gains for makers of computer chips and other companies benefiting from the artificial-intelligence boom carried Wall Street higher. The S&P 500 climbed 0.9%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 385 points, or 0.7%, and the Nasdaq composite rose 1.3%.AI stocks once again were at the center of the action, and they rose for a second straight day after tumbling the week before.
After rocketing higher because of the boom in investment in AI chips and data centers, they’ve come under pressure in recent weeks on worries that they shot too high. Micron Technology jumped 12.2% and added to its 1.9% gain from the day before, coming off its 13.3% drop from last week. Nvidia added 2%, and they were the two strongest forces lifting the S&P 500.
