Investing.com - Shares in the Asia-Pacific region opened mixed on Wednesday, following another record-breaking session for US tech shares, which propelled the Nasdaq and S&P 500 to new heights.
By 11:25 am AEST (1:25 am GMT) the S&P/ASX 200 eased by 0.1%, while South Korea's KOSPI 200 and Japan's Nikkei 225 gained of 0.9% and 0.5%, respectively.
In the US, the broader S&P 500 rose 0.3%, while the NASDAQ Composite finished slightly higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average saw a modest increase of 0.1%, or 57 points.
Investors are closely monitoring data about the US economy, which is currently grappling with slowly moderating inflation and still-high interest rates. Fresh reports provided mixed signals on Tuesday, with May retail sales rising less than expected while manufacturing production exceeded expectations.
NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) led Tuesday's market with a 3.5% gain, surpassing Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)as the most valuable listed US company for the first time. The market now values the maker of artificial-intelligence chips at $3.34 trillion.
In commodities, Brent crude oil was up 1.3% to US$84.41 a barrel, while gold was flat at US$2,329.10.
In terms of the bond market, the yield for US Treasury notes fell, with the 2 Year yield at 4.71% and the 10 Year yield at 4.22%.
In China, shares ended higher, led by software-related stocks. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.5% to 3,030.25. Meanwhile, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closed 0.1% lower at 17,915.55.
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average closed 1.0% higher at 38,482.11, led by electronics and technology stocks. India's Sensex closed 0.4% higher at 77,301.14, led by bank stocks.
In Europe, stocks in the U.K. ended higher on Tuesday, as the FTSE 100 Index rose 0.6% to 8,191.29. In mainland Europe, shares closed higher, with the STOXX Europe 600 Index up 0.7% to 515.01, Germany's DAX adding 0.4% to 18,131.97, and France's CAC 40 gaining 0.8% to 7,628.80