Asia stocks rise as AI cheer offsets Iran deal uncertainty; KOSPI hits record high
Investing.com– Most Asian stocks rose on Monday, buoyed chiefly by gains in technology as optimism over artificial intelligence helped markets look past continued uncertainty over a U.S.-Iran peace deal.
South Korea’s KOSPI was a standout performer, hitting a record high on continued gains in local chipmaking and electronics stocks with exposure to AI.
Regional markets took positive cues from Wall Street, which ended at record highs on Friday on strength in tech. A host of reports over the past week also showed continued negotiations between the U.S. and Iran over a peace deal, although no clear deal was announced.
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KOSPI hits record high ahead of Nvidia- tech exec meetings
The KOSPI surged nearly 5% to a record high of 8,874.16 points, buoyed chiefly by gains in tech.
Memory chip giants Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (KS:005930) and SK Hynix Inc (KS:000660) both jumped nearly 10% to record highs, while LG Electronics Inc (KS:066570) surged nearly 30%.
The stocks were buoyed by a host of reports suggesting that NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang will meet major South Korean tech executives when he visits the country later this week.
Nvidia also plans to hold an event on the sidelines of the COMPUTEX trade show in Taipei on Monday, which will involve major South Korean executives.
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Analyze KS11
8,788.18
▲+312.03(+3.68%)
Closed·02:27:201D1W1M6M1Y5YMax
In this articleKS11+3.68%AXJO-0.03%JP225+0.90%HK50+0.79%SSEC-0.19%TOPX-0.30%CSI300-0.86%
Nvidia already has deep business ties to South Korean companies, specifically SK Hynix and Samsung. Speculation over more such partnerships boosted local stocks, especially as optimism over AI-fueled demand for chips and server infrastructure remained in play.
Nikkei buoyed by tech, other Asia stocks mixed
Broader Asian stocks were a mixed bag, with Japanese shares rising, while others were mixed.
Regional markets tracked Friday gains in Wall Street, as a mildly softer-than-expected U.S. inflation reading also spurred some hopes that the impact of the Iran war will not be as bad as feared.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1%, buoyed chiefly by gains in tech. SoftBank Group Corp. (TYO:9984) was among the best performers on the index, rallying over 10% to a record high.
Monday’s gains also saw Softbank overtake Toyota Motor Corp (TYO:7203) to become Japan’s most valuable company. The tech conglomerate has benefited greatly from optimism over AI in the past year, especially given its exposure to OpenAI.
Other Japanese tech and AI stocks also rose, with chip stocks Murata Mfg Co (TYO:6981) and Kioxia Holdings Corp (TYO:285A) rising 14% and 11%, respectively.
Among other Asian stocks, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 0.5%, also buoyed by gains in tech.
China’s Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 and Shanghai Composite indexes fell 1% and 0.4%, respectively. Purchasing managers index data released on Sunday and Monday showed some cooling in manufacturing growth in May, keeping markets largely uncertain over the world’s second-largest economy.
Australia’s ASX 200 fell 0.1%, Singapore’s Straits Times index was flat, while futures for India’s Nifty 50 index fell 0.2%.
