Shares in Asia-Pacific were higher on Wednesday, with Hong Kong leading gains regionally.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 leaped 290.34 points, or 1%, to 28,234.29.
Japan’s economy shrank an annualized 0.5% in the first quarter, revised government data showed Wednesday — an improvement over the initial estimate of a 1% contraction.
The Japanese yen traded at 133.62 per U.S. dollar, weaker than levels below 132 seen against the dollar yesterday.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index hiked 482.92 points, or 2.2%, to 22,014.59, as Chinese tech stocks listed in the city soared: Alibaba surged 10.1% while Tencent climbed 6.5% and NetEase gained 5.7%.
The World Bank on Tuesday cut its global growth forecast to 2.9% for 2022 and warned of the world economy slipping into a period of stagflation reminiscent of the 1970s.
The Australian dollar was at $0.7189, off an earlier high of $0.7235.
In other markets
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 added 40.68 points or 1%, to 4,219.81.
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index dipped 5.74 points, or 0.2%, to 3,225.80.
In Taiwan, the Taiex index raced 157.63 points, or 1%, to 16,670.51.
In Korea, the Kospi docked 0.19 points to 2,626.15.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 nicked higher 0.54 points to 11,266.24
In Australia, the ASX 200 advanced 25.36 points, or 0.4%, to 7,121.10.