Hitachi, the Japanese conglomerate, saw its shares rise by more than 10% on Friday following the announcement made late Thursday regarding a partnership with OpenAI aimed at developing artificial intelligence infrastructure and data centers on a global scale. Japan’s Nikkei 225 experienced an increase of 1.85%, concluding at 45,769.50, whereas the Topix finished up by 1.35% at 3,129.17.

The country’s unemployment rate increased to 2.6% in August, according to government data released on Friday. This figure surpassed the 2.4% anticipated by economists and the 2.3% recorded in the previous month. The S&P Global Japan services purchasing managers’ index increased to 53.3 in September, up from 53.1 in August, propelled by robust domestic demand despite a decline in new export business. “Services companies experienced another month of robust growth, whereas manufacturers indicated a more pronounced decrease in output due to sluggish sales. As a result, the private sector as a whole expanded at the slowest rate since May,” stated Annabel Fiddes.

Australia’s ASX/S&P 200 experienced an increase of 0.46%, reaching a level of 8,987.4. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index experienced a decline of 0.54%, settling at 27,140.92, whereas the Hang Seng Tech Index decreased by 0.90%, reaching 6,622.85. India’s Nifty 50 and the BSE Sensex were exhibiting little movement as of 2:30 p.m., the markets in China and South Korea were closed due to holidays. U.S. equity futures exhibited minimal movement during the early hours in Asia, following a session in which the three primary U.S. indexes reached record highs, as investors appeared unfazed by the ongoing government shutdown. Investors are monitoring the duration of the shutdown to evaluate the severity of its economic implications. Historically, government shutdowns in the U.S. have not significantly impacted the markets. Overnight, the S&P 500 inched up 0.06%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed more than 78 points, or nearly 0.2%.

The Nasdaq Composite experienced an increase of approximately 0.4%, driven by a 0.9% rise in Nvidia, which has reached an unprecedented peak. Other chipmakers experienced an uptick, as Intel and AMD both increased by over 3%. The U.S. government shutdown has resulted in the Labor Department suspending all operations, which includes the anticipated release of the September nonfarm payrolls report on Friday. While this will diminish the volume of economic data the Federal Reserve can incorporate into its interest rate decision at the October meeting, it simultaneously eliminates a variable that could exert pressure on equities.