Tokyo, Feb 18 (AP) Shares in Asia were higher on Wednesday, with Japan's benchmark gaining more than 1 per cent after a quiet finish for US stocks. Most markets in Asia stayed closed for Lunar New Year holidays.

US futures were flat and oil prices edged higher.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 added 1.2 per cent to 57,249.43 by midday as lawmakers prepared to reappoint Sanae Takaichi as prime minister following a landslide victory for her ruling Liberal Democrats in a February 8 election.

Technology companies led the advance, with computer chipmaker Tokyo Electron gaining 3.5 per cent.

However, technology and energy giant SoftBank Group's shares fell 2 per cent, extending a more than 5 per cent loss on Tuesday, after the administration of US President Donald Trump announced that its subsidiary SB Energy will participate in a USD 33 billion natural gas facility, said to be the world's largest, near Portsmouth, Ohio.

That agreement is part of Japan's commitment of USD 550 billion in US investments as part of a trade deal that raised tariffs on Japanese exports to the United States by 15 per cent.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.4 per cent at 8,993.20, while India's Sensex edged 0.1 per cent higher. In Bangkok, the SET advanced 0.5 per cent.

New Zealand's S&P/NZX 50 lost 0.7 per cent.

On Tuesday, US stocks flipped between gains and losses.

The S&P 500 rose 0.1 per cent to 6,843.22 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.1% to 49,553.19. The Nasdaq composite gained 0.1 per cent to 22,578.38.

Paramount Skydance helped lead the market, gaining 4.9 per cent after Warner Bros. Discovery said it would allow Paramount a chance to give its “best and final” bid to buy the entertainment company. Paramount is trying to top an offer from Netflix.

Warner Bros. Discovery rose 2.7 per cent, and Netflix added 0.2 per cent.

On the losing end of Wall Street was General Mills, which sank 7 per cent after warning that its customers are feeling uneasy. The company behind the Cheerios, Nature Valley and Pillsbury brands cut its forecast for an underlying measure of profit for 2026, saying declines would likely be sharper than it earlier expected.

Several surveys have recently shown weak confidence among US households, which are struggling with inflation that remains higher than anyone would like, a job market coming off a weak year of growth and worries about tariffs.

Drops for some Big Tech stocks were the heaviest weights on the market Tuesday, including a 1.2 per cent fall for Alphabet.

The moves were tentative, though, and Nvidia swung between being one of the market's heaviest weights and one of its biggest strengths.

Last week, stocks of software and other companies tumbled as investors hunted for companies that could be potential losers if AI ends up remaking the world and their industries.

The market has seen a sharp turnaround from last year, when the promise of AI helped drive US stock indexes to record after record. Now, companies in industries as varied as software and legal services and trucking have seen investors suddenly turn against them when worries flare that AI-powered competitors could steal their customers.

The companies spending big on AI are feeling their own pressure, too.

Global fund managers say they're worried about the risk that companies are pouring too many dollars into AI data centers and chips. Those companies will need to see tremendous profits and productivity to make their investments worth it. Alphabet, for example, said its spending on AI and other investments could double this year to roughly USD 180 billion.

“So we have a market that simultaneously believes AI will destroy everything and, at times, deliver nothing. That tension is why single stocks are being whipsawed like penny names even though we are talking about trillion-dollar balance sheets,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.

A survey of global fund managers by Bank of America found a record percentage is saying that companies are “overinvesting.” That could mean an eventual pullback in spending on chips from Nvidia and other companies.

In other dealings early Wednesday, US benchmark crude oil added 20 cents to USD 62.53 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, picked up 24 cents to USD 67.66 per barrel.

The US dollar bought 153.54 Japanese yen, up from 153.29 yen. The euro slipped to USD 1.1845 from USD 1.1854.

The price of gold rose 0.9 per cent, while the price of silver was up 2.2 per cent.

Bitcoin's price fell 1.2 per cent to about USD 67,700. (AP) GSP