Japan: Shares Advance on AI-Fueled Rally.

The Nikkei 225 Index climbed 1.08% to close at 63,954 on Wednesday, rising for the second straight session and tracking gains on Wall Street as strong results from technology companies further boosted sentiment toward the artificial intelligence sector. Broadcom announced $63 billion in financing tied to Anthropic’s use of its technology, while Oracle expanded its partnership with OpenAI and Meta’s $25 billion share offering was oversubscribed fivefold. Meanwhile, South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix reported a substantial increase in revenue and operating profit, supported by strong AI-related demand. Investors also focused on major central bank policy decisions due this week, with the Fed, ECB, and BOJ widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged as markets weigh the possibility of rate hikes in December. Technology and AI-related shares led the gains, with strong gains from Kioxia (13.8%), Advantest (3.2%), Taiyo Yuden (7.1%), SoftBank Group (4.7%) and Ibiden Co (7.9%).