Equities in Asia followed Japan and Korea upward Tuesday as carmakers warmed to the idea of lower tariffs on their auto products.
The Nikkei 225 edged up 0.17 points to 49,303.45.
Among the top movers on the Nikkei was industrial robot maker Fanuc, which was up 6.51% after announcing a partnership with Nvidia to improve its products with AI. NGK Insulators, which manufactures diesel particulate filters, advanced 7.2%, and electrical equipment company Fujikura added 1.56%.
Meanwhile, shares of SoftBank fell more than 5% in their third straight session of losses, as AI valuation concerns continued to mount. The tech conglomerate’s CEO, Masayoshi Sun, said during the FII Priority Asia forum on Monday that he “was crying to sell Nvidia shares” to fund his company’s investments in AI, which includes OpenAI.
Yields on the 10-year Japanese Government Bonds rose to 1.88%, the highest since June 2008, amid growing speculation of an interest rate hike by the central bank as soon as this month.
Meanwhile, yield on the 20-year JGB rose to 2.915%, the highest since 1999, and yield on the 30-year JGB rose to an all-time high of 3.411%.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng gained 61.79 points, or 0.2%, to 26,095.05.
Shares of South Korean auto companies rose Tuesday after U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick confirmed that lower U.S. auto tariffs of 15% on South Korea would retrospectively come into effect, starting Nov. 1.
Korean stocks gathered steam as carmakers Hyundai Motor rose 4.5% and Kia Corp gained 4.2%.
South Korea’s headline inflation in November rose 2.4% year on year, according to government data Tuesday, exceeding the 2.35% rise expected by economists in a Reuters poll. Core inflation, which strips out prices of fresh food and energy, rose 2% from a year earlier.
The latest figure is unchanged from October’s inflation rate, supporting the case for the central bank to keep interest rates on hold. The Bank of Korea had kept rates unchanged at 2.5% for a fourth straight meeting last Thursday.
In other markets
The CSI 300 in Shanghai shed 22.15 points, or 0.5%, to 4,554.33.
In Korea, the Kospi rebounded 74.56 points, or 1.9%, to 3,994.93
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index nudged up 11.74 points, or 0.3%, to 4,537.96.
In Taiwan, the Taiex regained 221.74 points, or 0.8%, to 27,564.27.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 revived 54.28 points, or 0.4%, to 13,502.77.
In Australia, the ASX 200 recovered 14.5 points, or 0.2%, to 8,579.70.
