Shares in Asia-Pacific were higher on Wednesday as Chinese stocks led gains among the region’s major markets.
The Nikkei 225 gained 57 points, or 0.2%, to 29,562.93.
In corporate news, shares of Toyota rose 1.7% while Japanese automotive supplier Denso’s stock gained 0.39%. The moves came after start-up Aurora announced it will collaborate with the firms to "build and globally deploy self-driving cars at scale." Aurora bought Uber’s self-driving unit in December.
Meanwhile, shares of Nissan surged 3.7% after CEO Makoto Uchida reaffirmed the importance of electric vehicles to its future. He told reporters the firm will be looking to electrify 100% of all its new vehicle offerings "from the early 2030s in key markets."
Uchida also said Nissan is working with suppliers to "minimize" the impact of a global shortage of semiconductors that has hit the car industry especially hard.
The Japanese yen traded at 104.56 per U.S. dollar, having strengthened significantly from levels above 105.2 against the greenback seen earlier in the trading week.
The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong ballooned 562.53 points, or 1.9%, to 30,038.72.
The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7738 following its rise from levels around $0.765 earlier this week.
CHINA
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 leaped 121.47 points, or 2.1%, to 5,807.72.
China’s consumer inflation declined in January, according to the country’s National Bureau of Statistics which reported the consumer price index slipped 0.3% from a year ago. The NBS also reported the producer price index rose 0.3% year over year in January.
In other markets
In Taiwan, the Taiex returned from holiday to gain 96.18 points, or 0.6%, to 15,802.40
In Korea, the Kospi Index recovered 15.91 points, or 0.5%, to 3,100.58
In Singapore, the Straits Times dipped 9.43 points, or 0.3%, to 2,925.84
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 dropped 97.66 points, or 0.8%, to 12,830.03
In Australia, the ASX 200 reclaimed 35.68 points, or 0.5%, to 6,856.90.
