Japan’s Nikkei 225 hits over 2-month high; Asian chip firms track Nvidia rebound

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.71%, dragged by retail trade stocks, closing at 7,783. The index was the only one in negative territory throughout Asia.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 1.26% and ended at 39,667.07, hitting its highest level since April 9, while the broad-based Topix was up 0.56% and reached its highest since March 22.

South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.64% to 2,792.05, while the small-cap Kosdaq traded close to the flatline and finished slightly up at 842.12.

Semiconductor and related stocks rose after Nvidia shares closed 6.76% higher overnight. Advantest jumped more than 7%, while Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, SK Hynix and MediaTek increased 1.59%, 5.33% and 1.44%, respectively. Samsung Electronics rebounded and gained 0.62%.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was marginally up in its final hour of trade, while mainland China’s CSI 300 closed 0.65% higher at 3,480.26 – rebounding off a near four-month low.

Overnight in the U.S., the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined, shedding 0.76% and closing at 39,112.16. Led by an Nvidia rebound, the broad market S&P 500 added 0.39% while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.26%, with both indexes ending three-day losing streaks.

— CNBC’s Hakyung Kim and Samantha Subin contributed to this report.