Asian equities were rangebound as attention was focused on Nvidia results and Fed minutes

As investors anticipated more clues on U.S. interest rates from the minutes of the Federal Reserve's most recent meeting, the majority of Asian markets traded in a flat-to-low range on Wednesday.

Investors were cautious of technology equities prior to significant earnings from industry leader NVIDIA, and sentiment toward regional markets was negatively impacted by waning confidence in China.

Tuesday's session on Wall Street indices was somewhat bullish, sending mixed signals to Asian markets as many Fed members warned that sticky inflation may keep interest rates high for an extended period of time. However, despite increases in technology, the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ Composite managed to achieve record highs.

Following weak trade statistics from the nation, Japan's Nikkei 225 and TOPIX indices saw the worst performance in Asia on Wednesday, losing 0.6% and 0.5%, respectively.

April saw lower-than-expected growth in Japan's exports due to sluggish demand in important countries, especially China, and lower-than-expected imports due to muted local demand.

The nation had a higher-than-expected trade deficit for the month as a result.

In anticipation of Nvidia's crucial earnings, which are expected after the U.S. closure on Wednesday, tech-heavy regional bourses in Asia did not follow the overnight advances in their U.S. counterparts.

KOSPI for South Korea was unchanged, however, the Taiwan Weighted index saw a little increase. Some of Nvidia's largest Asian suppliers, including TSMC and SK Hynix, are included in both indices.

Because of its central role in the enormous price surge that resulted from excitement about the rapidly expanding AI business, Nvidia is seen as a bellwether for the technology sector.

Given the AI boom during the past year, the company, which produces the most powerful AI chips on the market, is predicted to see exponential growth in earnings.

(Sources: investing.com, reuters.com)