Asia-Pacific stocks nudge higher following overnight Dow surge; Alibaba’s cloud division turns profitable

SINGAPORE — Stocks in Asia-Pacific traded higher Wednesday morning following an overnight surge on Wall Street.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.28% in early trading while the Topix index advanced 0.63%. South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.71%.

Shares in Australia also rose as the S&P/ASX 200 gained about 0.8%.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan traded 0.3% higher.

In corporate news, investors will monitor Hong Kong-listed shares of Alibaba after the Chinese tech giant reported its cloud division was profitable for the first time.

A private survey on China’s services sector activity in January is also set to be released, with the Caixin/Markit services Purchasing Managers’ Index expected around 9:45 a.m. HK/SIN.

Overnight stateside, the Dow Jones Industrial Average soared 475.57 points to close at 30,687.48 — its best daily performance since November. The S&P 500 rose 1.4% to finish its trading day at 3,826.31 while the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.6% to close at 13,612.78.

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 91.197 following its rise from levels below 90.8 earlier this week.

The Japanese yen traded at 105.04 per dollar, still weaker than levels below 104 against the greenback seen last week. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7603, off levels above $0.762 seen yesterday.

Here’s a look at what’s on tap:

• China: Caixin/Markit services Purchasing Managers’ Index at 9:45 a.m. HK/SIN