Markets in China, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Singapore remained closed for the Lunar New Year holiday, keeping broader trading volumes largely muted

Asian stocks rose on Wednesday as technology shares, especially those in Japan, recouped a measure of recent losses, although concerns over the impact of artificial intelligence on the sector still persisted.

Markets in China, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Singapore remained closed for the Lunar New Year holiday, keeping broader trading volumes largely muted.

Nikkei 225 index gained 1.1%, while the TOPIX advanced 1.4% as both indexes recovered from losses logged earlier this week.

Tech shares were among the best performers on the Nikkei, recovering from weeks of steep losses.

Broader Japanese shares also benefited from bargain buying after two days of sharp losses, which were sparked by dismal fourth-quarter gross domestic product data released on Monday.

Stronger-than-expected trade data for January, released on Wednesday, also provided some support, with the figures showing Japan’s key exports soared much more than expected in the month.

But the Japan’s imports unexpectedly dropped, while it still clocked a trade deficit for the month.

ASX 200 index advanced 0.4%, extending gains from the prior session. CSL Ltd was the among biggest boosts to the index, gaining 0.6% on a licensing deal with Eli Lilly and Company.

On the other hand, BHP Group Ltd dropped 1.6% from record highs after clocking stellar first-half earnings on Tuesday. Santos Ltd shed 1.7% after clocking a 25% decline in its annual profit, while Suncorp Group Ltd also dropped on weak earnings.

Australian wage price index data showed incomes rose mostly as expected in the December quarter, pointing to continued resilience in the economy. But the print also spurred more concerns over sticky Australian inflation.

Nifty 50 index moved little in morning trade, as software names struggled to recover from bruising losses over the past week.

Indian software majors such as Infosys Ltd, Wipro Ltd, and HCL Infosystems Ltd had plunged through February on concerns that developments in AI agents and software could eat into their market share.

Global tech and software stocks had also dropped on this notion, especially after AI major Anthropic released new software tools.