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Stock market today: Asian stocks mostly higher, boosted by Wall Street records as Tesla surges

TOKYO (AP) — Asian stocks were mostly higher Wednesday after Tesla shares climbed more than 10%, helping to push U.S. benchmark indexes to new records.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 0.9 percent in morning trade to 40,425.27 points. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index gained nearly 0.3 percent to 7,740.00 points. South Korea's Kospi rose nearly 0.1 percent to 2,782.42 points. Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.9 percent to 17,924.43 points, while the Shanghai Composite lost 0.3 percent to 2,989.51 points.

Asian investors were buoyed by hopes of a U.S. interest rate cut. But some traders stayed away ahead of the U.S. Independence Day holiday on Thursday.

On the radar is Japan's Nikkei, which could extend its run above the 40,000 level, with overnight strength from the tech sector while the Japanese yen continues to trade at a 38-year low, said Yeap Jun Rong, market analyst at IG.

In currency trading, the U.S. dollar rose to 161.63 Japanese yen from 161.43 yen. The euro was at $1.0747, little changed from $1.0749. Among technology-related stocks in Tokyo, Kyocera Corp. jumped 2.2% in morning trade, while Murata Manufacturing Co. jumped 5.2%.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 rose 0.6% to 5,509.01 points, surpassing its record set two weeks ago. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.4% to 39,331.85 points, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.8% to 18,028.76 points, beating its own record set the day before.

Tesla led the way with a 10.2% gain after the electric vehicle maker announced a more moderate decline in sales for spring than analysts expected. Modest gains for others important and influential actions also helped push the market higher, with Apple up 1.6%.

Wall Street investors are in wait-and-see mode.

Stocks benefited from lower Treasury yields after the head of the Federal Reserve Investors interpreted the comments as a signal that interest rates could be cut later this year. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell welcomed the improvement in inflation data after disappointing figures earlier this year.

We just want to understand that the levels we are seeing are a true reading of underlying inflation, he said during a panel discussion at the European Central Bank's monetary policy conference in Sintra, Portugal.

Investors are hoping inflation will slow enough to convince the Fed to lower its key interest rate, which is at its highest level in more than two decades and is holding back the economy.

Nvidia, one of the year's leading stocks, managed to contain Wall Street's gains. The company fell 1.3%, but is still up nearly 147.7% year-to-date.

Eli Lilly fell 0.8% and U.S.-listed shares of Novo Nordisk fell 1.7% after President Biden criticized in an opinion piece for USA Today the prices companies charge for their weight-loss and diabetes drugs.

The most anticipated economic data of the week will come on Friday, when the U.S. government releases the total number of jobs created by employers in June. Before that, the U.S. stock market will have a shortened trading day on Wednesday and Thursday, the July 4 holiday.

Treasury yields have recently come under some upward pressure from politics. Last week's debate Tensions between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump have traders making decisions in anticipation of a possible Republican victory in November. That has led to a rise in Treasury yields, in part because of the possibility of policies that would further increase U.S. government debt.

The 10-year yield is still well above its 4.29% level of Thursday evening, before the debate.

In commodity markets, the price of U.S. oil, the global benchmark, edged lower after hitting its highest level since April. Crude prices rose on expectations of strong demand during the summer, as well as the possibility that hurricanes could damage oil production in the Gulf of Mexico. Hurricane Beryl roars across the Caribbean.

The barrel of American crude, the international benchmark, gained 35 cents to $83.16 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent, the international benchmark, gained 40 cents to $86.64 a barrel.