Stock indices of the largest countries of the Asia-Pacific region (APR) are rising in trading on Wednesday against the background of the growth of the U.S. stock market on the previous day due to the rally of companies in the technology sector.

The U.S. stock market ended trading on Tuesday in the plus after a negative start to the day, caused, among other things, by a decline in the quotations of retailers’ shares.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 index was up 1% by 8:29 Moscow time.

Japan’s GDP in the first quarter of 2022 decreased by 0.1% quarter-on-quarter, the country’s government’s final data showed.

Preliminary data showed a 0.2% decline in GDP. Experts surveyed by Trading Economics expected a 0.3% drop on average.

Japan’s GDP decline in terms of annualized rates in January-March amounted to 0.5%, not 1%, as previously reported. The average forecast of analysts assumed a decrease of 1%.

By comparison, in the fourth quarter, the Japanese economy grew by 1% quarter-on-quarter and 4% on an annualized basis – the most since the fourth quarter of 2020.

Shares of JGC Holdings Corp. (12.5%), Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. (7%) and IHI Corp. (6.7%) led the gains.

The share price of investment and technology SoftBank Group is up 2.2% and consumer electronics maker Sony is up 1.8%.

Meanwhile, the share price of Asia’s largest apparel retailer Fast Retailing is down 0.01%.

China’s Shanghai Composite is up 0.03% by 8:37 Moscow time, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng is up 1.9%.

Leading the rise in Hong Kong trading are shares of Alibaba Group Holding (SPB: BABA) Ltd. (9.4%), Alibaba Health Information Technology Ltd. (9.2%) and Wuxi Biologics (Cayman) Inc. (6%).

The share price of electric car maker BYD Co. Ltd. rose 2.25%.

South Korea’s Kospi index was up 0.03% by 8:35 Moscow time by 8:35 Moscow time.

South Korea’s GDP grew 0.6% in quarterly terms in January-March, according to revised official statistics. A preliminary figure had indicated the economy grew 0.7%. The country’s GDP grew 1.2% in the fourth quarter of 2021.

The market value of automaker Hyundai Motor fell 0.5%. Meanwhile, the share price of Samsung Electronics Co, one of the world’s largest chip and consumer electronics makers, fell 0.15%.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.4%.

The world’s largest mining companies BHP and Rio Tinto added 2.4% and 2% respectively.