Investing.com – Asian stock markets rose on Wednesday, lifted by gains in the technology sector after revenue at chipmaker Intel beat estimates and ahead of key U.S. data on retail sales and consumer prices.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.87% after a Westpac-Melbourne Institute consumer survey showed that Australian consumers have remained generally upbeat, despite last week's interest rates hike.
Meanwhile, Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.39%; the Shanghai Composite gained 0.09%; Hong Kong's Hang Seng advanced 0.31%; and South Korea's Kospi Composite climbed 1.45%.
After the U.S. market closed on Tuesday, Intel, the world’s largest chipmaker, said that second-quarter sales will be about USD 10.2 billion. Bloomberg quoted analysts as having estimated USD 9.72 billion on average.
The world’s largest chipmaker after Intel, Samsung Electronics Co., gained 2.2% in Seoul in the wake of the report.
On Wednesday, the European Union was set to publish a monthly report on industrial production in the euro zone and the United States was due to publish closely watched monthly reports on consumer prices and retail sales.
The outlook for European markets was also rosy: France’s CAC 40 futures indicated a rise of 0.55%; Germany's DAX futures pointed to a gain of 0.55%; EURO STOXX 50 futures indicated an increase of 0.5%; and Britain's FTSE 100 futures pointed to a rise of 0.41%.
Later in the day, U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke was scheduled to testify before the Joint Economic Committee of Congress. Traders were likely to scrutinize his comments for clues to future shifts in monetary policy.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.87% after a Westpac-Melbourne Institute consumer survey showed that Australian consumers have remained generally upbeat, despite last week's interest rates hike.
Meanwhile, Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.39%; the Shanghai Composite gained 0.09%; Hong Kong's Hang Seng advanced 0.31%; and South Korea's Kospi Composite climbed 1.45%.
After the U.S. market closed on Tuesday, Intel, the world’s largest chipmaker, said that second-quarter sales will be about USD 10.2 billion. Bloomberg quoted analysts as having estimated USD 9.72 billion on average.
The world’s largest chipmaker after Intel, Samsung Electronics Co., gained 2.2% in Seoul in the wake of the report.
On Wednesday, the European Union was set to publish a monthly report on industrial production in the euro zone and the United States was due to publish closely watched monthly reports on consumer prices and retail sales.
The outlook for European markets was also rosy: France’s CAC 40 futures indicated a rise of 0.55%; Germany's DAX futures pointed to a gain of 0.55%; EURO STOXX 50 futures indicated an increase of 0.5%; and Britain's FTSE 100 futures pointed to a rise of 0.41%.
Later in the day, U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke was scheduled to testify before the Joint Economic Committee of Congress. Traders were likely to scrutinize his comments for clues to future shifts in monetary policy.