Asian stock markets rallied on Thursday, with South Korea and Japan recording the strongest gains after Micron Technology delivered better-than-expected results and signaled robust demand for memory chips used in artificial intelligence applications. The news ignited a broad rebound in semiconductor shares that had been hit during this week’s technology-led selloff.
South Korea’s KOSPI jumped 5.2%, or 442 points, and Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 4.0%, or nearly 2,800 points. Major Chinese benchmarks also moved higher, with the Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 up 1.2% and the Shanghai Composite advancing 0.3%. Other regional markets showed mixed to positive performance: Indonesia’s Jakarta Stock Exchange Composite Index added 0.7%, Thailand’s SET Index climbed 0.5% and India’s BSE Sensex 30 Futures opened 1% higher.
The regional rally tracked gains seen in U.S. futures after Micron’s earnings beat and its forecast for sustained AI memory-chip demand reduced investor fears that elevated technology valuations were beginning to derail the sector’s recent rally. The rebound was concentrated among memory-chip makers, helping to claw back some losses from earlier in the week.
Leading the charge in Korea were Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, which climbed 5.4%, and SK Hynix Inc, which surged 10.9%. Those moves helped reverse part of the roughly $1.3 trillion rout in global technology stocks that took place earlier in the week.
In Japan, notable chip-related rallies included Advantest Corp., which climbed 12.8%, Tokyo Electron Ltd., which rose 8.2%, and Kioxia Holdings Corp., which gained 8.0%. Hong Kong-listed chip firms also participated in the recovery, with Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp adding 1.5% and Hua Hong Semiconductor Ltd increasing 2.3%. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing edged 0.6% higher, according to Google data.
Investors were also looking ahead to Friday’s U.S. Personal Consumption Expenditures inflation report, the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, for additional guidance on the path for interest rates. Markets continue to price in the possibility of further Fed tightening over the coming months, with the prospect of stronger inflation expected to bolster expectations that U.S. rates could remain higher for longer.
Market breadth and regional nuances
While Korea and Japan led the regional advance on semiconductor strength, not all markets rose. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.3% despite domestic data showing the economy added 40,300 jobs in May and the unemployment rate unexpectedly eased to 4.4%. Those labor-market figures reinforced views that Australia’s labor market remains relatively resilient even after recent policy tightening by the Reserve Bank of Australia.
In China, markets were mixed but held support after Beijing began marketing up to c5 billion ($5.7 billion) of sovereign bonds in what could become its largest-ever euro-denominated debt sale, alongside additional steps to improve monetary policy operations. The Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 rose 1.2% and the Shanghai Composite gained 0.3%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.0% on profit-taking in some technology stocks despite the broader regional improvement in sentiment.
Elsewhere in the region, India’s futures traded higher with the BSE Sensex 30 up 1.0%, Thailand’s SET Index rose 0.5%, Singapore’s FTSE Straits Times was largely unchanged, Malaysia’s FTSE Malaysia KLCI fell 0.5%, Indonesia’s Jakarta Composite gained 0.7% and the Philippines’ PSEi Composite advanced 0.8%.
Geopolitical and macro watch
Markets also monitored developments in U.S.-Iran negotiations. Investors continued to watch whether interim agreements on a ceasefire could be extended or built upon, while outstanding disputes over nuclear inspections and regional security remained points of concern for traders assessing geopolitical risk.
The swift rebound in semiconductors after Micron’s outlook underscores the sensitivity of equity markets to forward-looking signals about demand for advanced memory chips used in AI systems. At the same time, the incoming U.S. inflation data and ongoing geopolitical discussions are likely to keep volatility elevated as market participants reassess rate expectations and risk premia.