Investor enthusiasm for artificial intelligence equities persisted following Meta’s unveiling of its Muse personal AI agent, bolstering demand for AI infrastructure. In Japan, Ibiden advanced 14.6%, while Advantest registered a gain of 3.2%, Tokyo Electron increased 1.5%, Lasertec added 1.8% and Murata Manufacturing rose 0.8%.

Investors exhibited restraint as Wall Street experienced downward pressure on Wednesday. Robust US economic data and elevated oil prices fueled concerns regarding inflation and intensified anticipations of additional Federal Reserve rate increases, propelling the US dollar and Treasury yields higher.

Market participants remained attentive to US-China trade negotiations, monitoring for indications of prospective new accords.