Japan\u2019s Nikkei 225 index topped 68,000 for the first time on Wednesday after U.S. stocks pushed further into record territory. <\/p>\n
The dollar briefly surpassed 160 Japanese yen before slipping back slightly. Oil prices rose more than $1 a barrel. <\/p>\n
Buying of technology shares linked to the boom in artificial intelligence has been driving rallies worldwide.<\/p>\n
By midafternoon, the Nikkei 225 was up 2.9% at 68,634.74. Shares in computer chip equipment maker Tokyo Electron gained 13.4%, while those for chip testing equipment maker Advantest gained 5.9%. <\/p>\n
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng lost 1.7% to 25,596.92, while the Shanghai Composite index added 0.4% to 4,092.53.<\/p>\n
Australia\u2019s S&P\/ASX 200 advanced 0.9% to 8,806.40 and Taiwan\u2019s Taiex gained 2%.<\/p>\n
In India, the Sensex lost 1.1%. <\/p>\n
Markets in South Korea were closed for a holiday. <\/p>\n
On Tuesday, winners of the artificial-intelligence<\/a> boom kept driving higher, pushing U.S. stocks to more records. <\/p>\n \u201cOne thing that stands out in today\u2019s market is how little investors seem willing to pay for protection despite a world overflowing with potential shocks,\u201d Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.<\/p>\n The S&P 500 rose 0.1% to 7,609.78 after drifting between small gains and losses through the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.4% to 51,307.79, and the Nasdaq composite edged up by less than 0.1% to 27,093.90. All three set all-time highs.<\/p>\n A report said that U.S. employers were advertising many more jobs<\/a> at the end of April than economists expected, a potential signal of continued health for the U.S. labor market. <\/p>\n Hewlett Packard Enterprise\u2019s stock soared 19.5% after it reported a profit for the latest quarter that blew past analysts\u2019 expectations. It credited demand from customers building their artificial-intelligence capabilities.<\/p>\n Marvell Technology leaped 32.5% for its best day since its stock began trading in 2000 after Nvidia\u2019s CEO, Jensen Huang, suggested at a conference in Taiwan that Marvell could be \u201cthe next trillion-dollar company.\u201d The last company to enter the expanding club of behemoths was Micron Technology<\/a>, which is likewise riding the AI wave. Nvidia, which slipped 0.7%, has seen its total value top $5 trillion. <\/p>\n Generac climbed 5.7% after saying it signed a deal to provide backup power generators to an unnamed \u201cleading hyperscale data center operator.\u201d<\/p>\n Such \u201chyperscalers\u201d are spending tremendous amounts of money to build huge AI data centers, which are powering what proponents believe is the next great revolution for the global economy. <\/p>\n Alphabet is one of those hyperscalers. The parent company of Google said it\u2019s raising $80 billion in cash to help pay for its investments by selling shares of its stock, which lost 3.9% on Tuesday. <\/p>\n The company is planning to spend as much as $190 billion on equipment and other investments this year. That\u2019s more than all the stock of The Walt Disney Co. is worth, and Alphabet is forecasting its spending on investments next year will \u201csignificantly increase.\u201d<\/p>\n Such huge sums raise the question about whether AI can produce the profits and productivity necessary to make all the investment worth it or if there is a bubble in AI investments.<\/p>\n