After a strong rally on Wall Street, Asian technology stocks moved higher on Wednesday, driven by the US artificial intelligence sector's gains. SoftBank Group shares surged by nearly 14%, while other notable movers included Tokyo Electron, which closed up 3.26%, and Advantest, which jumped 8.77%. Japanese memory chip maker Kioxia rose 4.24%.
In South Korea, SK Hynix advanced 5.77%, Samsung Electronics gained over 2.5%, and Seoul Semiconductor climbed 6.73%. In Taiwan, TSMC added 3.66%.
Technology stocks have seen heightened volatility recently. South Korea's semiconductor-heavy market, in particular, has swung between sharp declines and record highs over the past few trading sessions. Andrew Jackson, a strategist at Altus Advisors, noted in a Wednesday report that the latest rally in the US semiconductor sector has reinforced bullish sentiment toward AI-related stocks in Asia, citing broad gains among chipmakers and computing infrastructure providers overnight.
SoftBank-owned chip design company Arm Holdings surged overnight, driven by optimism over licensing fees tied to AI data centers and its central processing unit development plans. Jackson expects SoftBank shares to continue rising.
The US market saw a strong session on Tuesday, fueled by solid corporate earnings and expectations that the Strait of Hormuz could soon reopen to navigation, pushing oil prices lower. The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average both hit all-time highs, while the Nasdaq Composite surged 2.59% to close at 26,584.99 points, with Palantir jumping over 29%. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Tuesday's Squawk Box program that the US and Iran could reach a deal within days to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, easing concerns over global energy supply.
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