By Sherry Qin
Asian chip stocks were broadly higher as investors began to look past geopolitical tensions and refocus on continued surge in demand related to artificial-intelligence.
Regional chip stocks languished over the last two months die to concerns that the Middle East conflict would lead to sharply higher energy costs and shortages of raw materials.
But a string of robust results in past two weeks from major Asian chip players such as TSMC and SK Hynix has reignited appetite for AI plays.
"Asian equities are back in full gallop after their March stumble," said William Bratton, BNP Paribas analyst in a recent note, with many indices now above their pre-conflict levels or even notching record highs.
"The ongoing strength of the current tech (read "AI") supercycle is proving more material to aggregate earnings than higher oil prices," he added.
Shares of South Korean large-cap chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix were recently up 2.5% and 6.3%, respectively, early Monday. The rally in the world's two largest memory-chip makers, which account for more than 40% of the Kospi's market capitalization, pushed the benchmark more than 2% higher.
In Taiwan, shares of TSMC, the world's largest contract chip maker, rose as much as 6.6%, sending the island's benchmark Taiex index briefly over the 40000 level for the first time.
Japan's Tokyo Electron added 2.7% and Kioxia Holdings rose 5.35%.
Semiconductor Manufacturing International and Hua Hong Semiconductor rose 7.2% and 5.0%, respectively, in Hong Kong.
DeepSeek's long-awaited AI model launch on Friday also boosted Chinese semiconductor stocks amid hopes for increased demand for Made-in-China chips. AI chip maker Moore Threads jumped 9.5% in Shanghai after it announced that its first-quarter revenue more than doubled and it had posted its first quarterly profit.
Sentiment was also helped by Intel's 24% surge in New York on Friday after blockbuster results. That powered the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to fresh record highs.
Investor enthusiasm for technology plays extended across the chip sector, carrying the PHLX semiconductor index to its 18th straight gain, its longest winning streak on record, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
Write to Sherry Qin at sherry.qin@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 27, 2026 00:23 ET (04:23 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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