BANGKOK – On Monday, Asian stock markets saw a boost, largely driven by a recovery in technology stocks following last week’s concerns over the rapid rise in artificial intelligence-related equities.
Leading the charge, South Korea’s Kospi index soared by 3.5%. This surge was significantly influenced by SK Hynix, a computer chip manufacturer collaborating with Nvidia on AI technology, which saw its shares leap by 5.5%. Not far behind, Samsung Electronics experienced a 2.4% rise.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 advanced by 1.2%, reaching 50,897.20, bolstered by substantial gains in AI-related stocks. Notably, Tokyo Electron, a prominent chip maker, saw its shares jump by 4.7%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index climbed 0.8% to 26,445.65, while the Shanghai Composite index remained relatively stable, closing at 2,630.42.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 increased by 0.7%, reaching a level of 8,826.50.
Elsewhere in the region, Taiwan’s Taiex rose by 1.2%, and India’s Sensex edged up by 0.5%.
On Friday, stock indexes closed mixed on Wall Street, clocking their first weekly loss in the last four. The S&P 500 inched 0.1% higher, to 6,728.80. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.2% to 46,987.10.
The technology-heavy Nasdaq fell as much as 2.1%, but recovered most of its losses, shedding 0.2% to 23,004.54.
Major indexes wobbled throughout most of the week, weighed down by technology stocks, especially several big names with huge valuations that give them outsized influence over the direction of the market. Google’s parent company, Alphabet, fell 2.1% and Broadcom fell 1.7%.
Wall Street remains focused on the latest quarterly reports and forecasts from U.S. companies.
Payments company Block, which operates the Square and Cash App businesses, sank 7.7% after turning in results that fell short of forecasts. Exercise equipment maker Peloton jumped 14.2% after its results beat estimates.
Expedia Group surged 17.5% after beating analysts’ quarterly earnings forecasts.
More than 90% of companies within the S&P 500 have reported earnings for their latest quarter. Most companies have reported growth beyond Wall Street expectations and the influential tech sector has the strongest growth, according to data from FactSet.
Corporate profits and forecasts were already being scrutinized by Wall Street as investors try to gauge whether the market’s overall high value is justified. The results have taken on more significance amid a lack of other data about the economy because of the U.S. government shutdown, which is now the longest on record.
The shutdown is responsible for delays in key economic data on inflation and employment that traders and the Federal Reserve rely on in making decisions about investments and policy. The lack of data on employment is especially troubling because the job market has been weakening.
The Fed has signaled a more cautious approach on interest rate cuts that Wall Street has been expecting to help stimulate the economy by reducing the cost of borrowing.
The Fed has already cut its benchmark rate twice this year as it tries to counter the impact that a weakening employment market could have on economic growth. Cutting rates could worsen inflation at a time when levels are stubbornly higher than the central bank’s 2% goal, however.
Wall Street is still mostly betting that the Fed will cut interest rates at its December meeting.
In other dealings early Monday, U.S. benchmark crude oil picked up 54 cents to $60.29 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, gained 49 cents to $64.12 per barrel.
The U.S. dollar rose to 153.94 Japanese yen from 153.72 yen. The euro inched up to $1.1564 from $1.1562.
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