Asian benchmarks mostly rise after tech stocks lead rally on Wall Street

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Asian benchmarks mostly rise after tech stocks lead rally on Wall Street

2026-09-04 11:20 Last Updated At：11:30

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were mostly higher in early Friday trading, as regional market sentiment got a boost from the rally on Wall Street, mostly from big technology stocks.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 0.6% in morning trading to 64,622.33. South Korea's Kospi gained 0.9% to 6,635.67. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was little changed, slipping less than 0.1% to 9,011.80. Hong Kong's Hang Seng jumped 2.1% to 25,751.26, while the Shanghai Composite added 0.8% to 3,973.27.

Stocks on Wall Street closed higher Thursday as a recent run-up in bond yields eased further and big technology companies rallied. The S&P 500 rose 1.1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.2%, and the Nasdaq composite closed 1.4% higher.

Communication services stocks also accounted for a large share of the rally. Their huge valuations tend to give them more influence over the broader market’s direction.

Microsoft rose 2.7%, Apple gained 1% and Meta climbed 3%. Giant chipmaker Nvidia, whose high-end chips have emerged as the best building blocks for artificial intelligence, rose 1.8% after saying it would buy the AI platform Hugging Face for $13 billion.

In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude edged up 65 cents to $91.95 a barrel. Brent crude rose 47 cents to $95.99 a barrel.

The six-month-long U.S. war with Iran, which has intensified lately, is the main cause behind the recent surge in energy prices.

Many nations around the world, including Japan which imports virtually all its oil, depend on access to the Strait of Hormuz to import oil from the Middle East.

Iran fired at Kuwait on Thursday in retaliation for U.S. bombardments earlier in the week.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which influences mortgage rates, dropped to 4.77% from 4.79% late Wednesday. It has been rising steadily throughout the year and was as low as 4.20% at the beginning of 2026.

On interest rates, some investors are taking the recent remarks by Federal Reserve governor Christopher Waller as a sign that perhaps the Fed isn’t as likely to raise its short-term interest rates at its next policy meeting in two weeks as previously expected.

Waller said that, if new data next week shows inflation is cooling, he “would be inclined” to keep the Fed’s benchmark interest rate unchanged. Should the data show hotter inflation, he would consider a rate hike.

Market players are also closely watching what Japan's central bank might do on interest rates when its policy board meets later this month. Some analysts expect the Bank of Japan to raise its benchmark rate, and the question is by how much. Some reports say Japan is facing pressures to raise the interest rate so that the yen will move higher.

In currency trading, the U.S. dollar inched down to 155.78 Japanese yen from 155.84 yen. The euro cost $1.1633, little changed from $1.1631.

AP Business Writer Alex Veiga contributed to this report.

Yuri Kageyama is on Threads: https://www.threads.com/@yurikageyama

Adley Rutschman returns to Camden Yards — and homers twice for the Red Sox

BALTIMORE (AP) — Adley Rutschman had only positive things to say about his former teammates.

Then he delivered a blow to their postseason hopes.

Rutschman homered twice in his return to Camden Yards, hitting solo shots in the first and sixth innings for the Boston Red Sox in a 6-5 win over Baltimore on Thursday night. The loss left the Orioles 1 1/2 games out of the final wild-card spot in the American League.

“That's a heck of a way to make a return,” Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy said. “That was awesome.”

Rutschman received a standing ovation from the crowd — and from the Baltimore dugout — when he came to the plate with two outs in the first. Then he slugged a 1-1 pitch from Brandon Young over the wall in right field. It was the All-Star catcher's 10th homer of the season and second since being traded from the Orioles to the Red Sox in early August. He added another homer in the sixth to cut Baltimore's lead to 3-2.

Rutschman also received a video tribute between the first and second innings, and he got another big ovation despite having already done some damage offensively for his new team.

“All of it was special, a true testament to them as an organization,” Rutschman said after the game. "They do it right.”

Rutschman hit two homers for the Orioles against Boston on April 24. He's the first major league player to have a multihomer game on both sides of the same matchup in the same season, according to OptaSTATS.

Rutschman has battled elbow issues of late, but he was back in the lineup after missing the previous three games. He’s only batting .193 since the trade, but perhaps this is the start of a more productive stretch run.

Baltimore drafted Rutschman No. 1 overall in 2019. His arrival in the major leagues in 2022 was part of a significant turnaround in which the Orioles ultimately won the AL East in 2023 and made the playoffs in 2024.

However, the last two years have been a good deal less successful. Although Rutschman made the All-Star team for the third time this year, the Orioles traded him to Boston just before the deadline.

“A lot of memories, a lot of positive experiences. The people in Baltimore have always treated me with an unbelievable amount of respect and love, and I’ve always felt that when I’ve been here,” Rutschman said before the game. “So just a huge thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

Rutschman is now in better position to make the playoffs. Boston is almost certain to qualify, currently holding the second wild card. The Orioles could still sneak in, but right now they are in last place in the AL East.

So there was a decent amount at stake once the pregame reunions were over.

“He couldn't help himself. He stopped into the clubhouse quickly,” Orioles manager Craig Albernaz said before the game. “A lot of hugs, a lot of crap talk going back and forth. It was good to see him.”

See AP’s full MLB coverage here