Asian Stocks Rise on Lunar New Year Rebound, Tech Stocks Boost U.S. Markets

HONG KONG (AP) - Asian stock markets gained on Wednesday despite thin trading during the Lunar New Year holiday, following a rally on Wall Street driven by tech stocks.

Market Performance

* Japan's Nikkei 225 index climbed 0.7% to 39,273.49, recovering from Tuesday's losses.
* Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.7% to 8,455.70, as data showed a 0.2% increase in the Consumer Price Index in the December 2024 quarter, the smallest rise since mid-2020.
* India's Sensex gained 0.5%, while Thailand's SET declined 0.2%.

U.S. Tech Rebound

On Tuesday, tech stocks rebounded sharply on Wall Street after a Monday sell-off sparked by concerns about the AI industry. The S&P 500 climbed 0.9% to 6,067.70, while the Nasdaq composite surged 2% to 19,733.59 after losing 3.1% the previous day.

Nvidia's stock, a key beneficiary of the AI boom, rebounded 8.8% after plummeting nearly 17% on Monday. Other AI-related companies also held steadier, including chipmaker Broadcom (+2.6%) and Constellation Energy (+1.4%).

AI Industry Impact

The recent volatility in AI-related stocks stems from concerns raised by DeepSeek, a Chinese company that claimed to have developed a competitive language model at a lower cost. This raised questions about the necessity of extensive spending on AI chips and electricity.

However, some experts believe that the development may ultimately lead to broader AI adoption and investment in software.

Economic Outlook

Investors are now focused on the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision later Wednesday. The Fed is widely expected to keep interest rates unchanged, marking the first meeting without a rate cut since September.

Energy and Currency Markets

* U.S. crude oil shed 14 cents to $73.63 a barrel.
* Brent crude fell 18 cents to $76.31 a barrel.
* The U.S. dollar weakened against the Japanese yen to 155.09 yen from 155.53 yen.
* The euro declined to $1.0438 from $1.0432.