Investors also likely continued to monitor the Covid situation regionally. The Japanese government is set to declare another Covid-19 state of emergency in Tokyo until Aug. 22, according to local news agency Kyodo News.
Meanwhile, Australia’s New South Wales state announced Wednesday a week-long extension of Sydney’s lockdown.
Overnight stateside, the S&P 500 gained about 0.34% overnight stateside to an all-time high of 4,358.13.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 104.42 points to 34,681.79 while the Nasdaq Composite was little changed at 14,665.06.
Currencies and oil
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 92.763 following a rise earlier this week from below 92.1.
The Japanese yen traded at 110.49 per dollar, having strengthened earlier this week from above 111 against the greenback. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7459 as it struggles to recover after slipping from above $0.756 earlier in the week.
Oil prices were lower in the morning of Asia trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures slipping 0.54% to $73.03 per barrel. U.S. crude futures shed 0.64% to $71.74 per barrel.
Source: CNBC