Asian markets are modestly upbeat despite tech growth and high US CPI.

Most Asian markets rose marginally on Wednesday as key technology sectors followed Wall Street's surge, but overall gains were restrained as sizzling US inflation factored into a higher-for-longer interest rate outlook.

Wall Street indexes delivered a solid lead-in to regional markets, with the S&P 500 reaching a record high as optimism in artificial intelligence, following positive results from Oracle (NYSE:ORCL), buoyed technology stocks.

However, it was unclear whether these gains would be sustained, as U.S. stock index futures dipped slightly in Asian trade.

Asian tech stocks jump amid AI optimism.
South Korea's KOSPI index was one of the better performers on the day, climbing 0.3%. Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (KS:005930) climbed 0.7% as media reports indicated that the company wanted to expand into AI by producing new, high-speed memory chips.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index remained unchanged as tech gains offset broader losses. Baidu (HK:9888), BYD (HK:1211), and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (HK:0981) were among the index's top gainers, up 2% to 4%.

TSMC (TW:2330) (NYSE:TSM), the world's largest contract chipmaker and a significant supplier to NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA), increased 1.3% in Taiwan trade. Despite declines in heavyweight banking and mining firms, the ASX 200 rose 0.4%.

Sentiment toward technology was lifted by fresh optimism in AI, after cloud computing giant Oracle reported higher-than-anticipated earnings and announced a deeper dive into AI, with a joint announcement with Nvidia expected later this week.

However, with the exception of the technology sector, broader Asian markets moved in a flat-to-low range, as hotter-than-expected consumer inflation data in the United States reduced the likelihood of the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates soon.

Concerns about slowing Chinese economic development resurfaced, with China's Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 and Shanghai Composite indices sliding 0.6% and 0.5%, respectively, from four-month highs.

Futures for India's Nifty 50 index indicated a moderately favorable opening due to gains in heavyweight technology. The indicator, along with the BSE Sensex 30, held close to record highs.

Japanese markets drop as BOJ fears remain.
Japanese stocks continued to retreat from record highs set last week, with the Nikkei 225 down 0.2% and the TOPIX down 0.2%.

Except for the technology sector, Japanese stocks fell sharply as investors were increasingly convinced that the Bank of Japan's negative interest rate and yield curve management policies were about to be phased out.

According to Reuters, the BOJ is planning to provide guidance on the scope of asset purchases as it transitions from its ultra-dovish policy.

The BOJ is scheduled to convene next week, and traders expect a rate hike either then or in late April.

Ongoing negotiations between big Japanese firms and employee unions are also expected to result in higher wages, which are an important consideration for the BOJ when hiking interest rates.