Japan, Aussie Stocks Follow N. America Up

Japan and Australian stocks rose Wednesday as Wall Street rebounded overnight, while several Asia-Pacific markets were closed for the Lunar New Year holiday.In Japan, the Nikkei 225 regained 379.71 points, or 1%, to 39,414.78. Japanese tech stocks rebounded after posting losses for several days. Advantest gained 4.36%, Tokyo Electron rose 2.34%, while SoftBank Group advanced 2.43%.Minutes from the Bank of Japan’s December meeting released Wednesday showed members discussed neutral interest rates. The BOJ has been debating how far borrowing costs should be raised as inflation remains above its 2% target while wage hikes broaden due to labor shortages.Japan’s central bank had hiked interest rates by 25 basis points to 0.5% in its meeting last week. The move brings its policy level to its highest rate since 2008.Australian markets moved upward. The country’s inflation rose 0.2% in the December quarter and 2.4% annually, below the 2.5% estimated by economists polled by Reuters, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed.In other marketsHong Kong, mainland China, Taiwan, Singapore South Korean markets were closed for holidays.In New Zealand, the NZX 50 hiked 45.88 points, or 0.4%, to 13,003.04.In Australia, the ASX 200 gained 47.94 points, or 0.6%, to 8,447.01