AI, tech recovery, Nikkei 225, Hang Seng Index
SHANGHAI, CHINA – MARCH 01: Skyscrapers stand at the Pudong Lujiazui Financial District on March 1, 2022 in Shanghai, China.
Xiao Yang | Visual China Group | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets opened higher Tuesday, after Wall Street’s tech stocks rebounded on a rally in Google parent and hopes of a Fed rate cut.
Optimism about Alphabet’s standing in the AI race started last week after the tech giant announced its upgraded AI model, Gemini 3. The stock closed 6.31% higher Monday. Other AI-related stocks, such as Broadcom and Micron Technology, also popped higher, building on a wider rebound that started on Friday, when the head of the New York Federal Reserve left the door open to a December interest rate cut.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index climbed 1.14% in early trading, while the Topix index advanced 0.7%.
AI-related stocks were among the top gainers on the Nikkei 225, with semiconductor testing equipment supplier Advantest trading 4.8% higher and chip equipment maker Lasertec adding 2.75%. Tokyo Electron, which provides essential chipmaking equipment to foundries that manufacture Nvidia’s chips, gained 2.39%.
South Korea’s Kospi index jumped 2.39%, and the small-cap Kosdaq moved up 1.7%. Index heavyweights SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics were up as much as 5% and 4%, respectively.
Australia’s ASX/S&P 200 pared early gains to hover above the flatline.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 1% in early trading, and the Hang Seng Tech index advanced 1.74%. The mainland’s CSI 300 was up 0.53%.
U.S. equity futures were little changed in early Asian hours.
Overnight, the S&P 500 rose 1.55% to close at 6,705.12, while the Nasdaq Composite jumped 2.69% to settle at 22,872.01. It was the tech-heavy index’s best day since May 12, when it rose 4.35%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 202.86 points, or 0.44%, to end at 46,448.27.
— CNBC’s Sean Conlon and Yun Li contributed to this report.