Asian shares rose on Wednesday despite renewed concerns over artificial intelligence gripping international markets, while oil prices came under pressure after Iran announced progress in nuclear talks with the United States.
The New Zealand dollar fell after the central bank said monetary policy must remain accommodative for some time to support the economic recovery.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 0.93% to 57,090.14, poised to snap a three-day slide, while Australia’s S&P/ASX200 gained 0.5%.
Mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and South Korea were among the markets closed for the Lunar New Year holiday.
A positive start in Asia followed a weak session on Tuesday on Wall Street as investors grappled with the prospect of an artificial intelligence boom.
Concerns that firms are investing too much, along with anxiety about the extent to which new technology could disrupt labor markets, have fueled investor jitters in recent weeks, SEEbiz reports.
Overnight in the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 0.07% to 49,533.19, the S&P 500 rose 0.10% to 6,843.22, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.14% to 22,578.38. The S&P 500 initially fell 0.88% before paring the losses to close in positive territory.
The yield on the benchmark US 10-year bond was unchanged at 4.054% on Wednesday. The 30-year bond yield fell 0.4 basis points to 4.6788%.
“Uncertainty around artificial intelligence continues to be a source of volatility, both in terms of the difficulty in assessing which AI firms will be winners and which losers, and in terms of what impact AI will have on other firms and sectors of the economy,” NAB analysts said.
Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude futures were little changed on Wednesday at $67.42 and $62.32 a barrel, respectively, after both fell to more than two-week lows in the previous session.
