us stocks rose wednesday as traders weighed fresh economic data that fanned fears of a looming recession the sp 500 rose 2883 points or 08 to 385297 by the end of the trading day while the dow jones industrial average increased 13340 points or 04 to 3326977 the techfocused nasdaq composite index climbed 7178 points or 07 to 1045876 all three opened in the green before briefly turning negative in midmorning trading after manufacturing activity dropped to its lowest level since may 2020 the labor department also said wednesday morning that job openings topped estimates in november a sign that demand for labor remained strong in the final months of 2022 the nikkei stock average was up 04 at 2582170 in early trade as gains in auto and electronics makers helped offset losses in financial stocks investors were focusing on economic data and their implications for monetary policy the topix a broader market index was flat at 186807 south koreas benchmark kospi gained 08 to 227363 in early trade led by internet and semiconductor stocks investors have been calm to the latest us fed minutes which suggest no rate cuts this year as they largely met market expectations kiwoom securities said memorychip makers samsung electronics and sk hynix rose extending gains to another session after the governments plan to offer bigger tax breaks for semiconductor companies hong kong stocks rose in early trade continuing the markets bullish start into 2023 the benchmark hang seng index was up 27 at 2135786 further advancing from its multimonth closing high on wednesday chinese tech giants led gains us tiger securities analysts said the internet sectors rally could be sustained in the coming months given the sectors high earnings sensitivity to overall consumer spending internet stocks also typically enjoy more price gains from general market sentiment recovery they added mainland chinese stocks were higher lifted by beijings progrowth stance the countrys central bank on wednesday said it would keep liquidity reasonably ample in 2023 to support the economy and vowed to step up financing support to spur domestic consumption and a stable property market consumer stocks were higher among the laggards were software and energy sector companies the shanghai composite index and the shenzhen composite index were each 03 higher the chinext price index was up 04 asian currencies consolidated against the usd in early asian trade but may strengthen on risk appetite prompted by overnight gains on wall street and early morning strength in regional equity markets there appears to be token risk on sentiment and lower us treasury yields said mizuho bank usdcnh edged 01 lower to 68936 and usdkrw was down 01 at 127017 while audusd was little changed at 06835 gold edged higher bolstered by chinese demand analysts said chinese buying seems to be the underlying driver behind the latest rally in gold prices td securities said the brokerages tracking of positioning for the top 10 participants in china indicate a 100ton increase in net long positions over the last two weeks it said spot gold was up 01 at 185581oz oil rose in the morning asian session in a likely rebound after oil futures settled overnight at their lowest level in more than three weeks the medium to longterm outlook for oil seems more constructive following the recent change in chinas covid policy ing strategists said also ings oilbalance analysis indicated a tightening in the market from 2q 2023 through to yearend which points to higher prices from 2q onward they added frontmonth wti crude oil futures were 10 higher at 7359bbl frontmonth brent crude oil futures were 08 higher at 7849bbl