Asian stocks explode higher as AI chip fever crushes fresh oil fears

Asian markets pushed higher on Friday as investors chose the AI trade over the oil shock.

Stocks rose sharply across the region as traders returned to chipmakers, even as renewed US-Iran attacks slowed the recovery of energy shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.

The move showed how powerful the semiconductor theme remains across Asia. But the rally also carried a warning.

Brent crude is still on track for its strongest weekly gain since early May, and any renewed disruption to Gulf shipping could quickly revive inflation concerns and pressure global bonds.

Chip rebound drives Asia higher

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 1.3%, helped by gains in chip and AI-linked stocks.

Japan’s Nikkei climbed 1.8%, while South Korea’s KOSPI jumped 4%, cementing its position as the region’s clearest expression of the AI trade.

Samsung Electronics rose 3%, while SK Hynix added 1% as investors bought back into Korean memory names after a volatile week.

Taiwan’s market was closed because of a typhoon, but the regional tone still improved after Wall Street’s tech-heavy Nasdaq ended higher overnight.

Micron’s plan to invest more than $250 billion in the US through 2035 also helped restore confidence in chip supply-chain spending.

The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rose 3%, showing that investors are still willing to treat pullbacks in the sector as buying opportunities.

SK Hynix debut tests AI appetite

Attention now turns to SK Hynix’s US market debut.

The company priced its American depositary shares at $149 each, raising about $26.5 billion in one of the largest share sales linked to the AI boom.

The listing gives US investors direct exposure to a key supplier of high-bandwidth memory, a critical component for advanced AI processors.

It also offers a fresh test of whether Wall Street is willing to pay a higher valuation for Korean chipmakers after their huge rally.

Jupiter Asset Management analysts see the ADR listing as potentially supportive for SK Hynix’s Seoul-listed shares.

They also expect a re-rating of SK Hynix to help Samsung, especially if Samsung provides more clarity on shareholder returns.

Oil and yen risks still linger

The risk backdrop has not disappeared. Brent traded near $76 a barrel and was on track for a weekly gain of about 5%, as renewed attacks between the US and Iran kept focus on Hormuz.

ATFX strategists say investors look resilient for now, but they remain cautious about underpriced event risk if the strait closes again.

In Japan, the yen strengthened to around 161.51 per dollar after Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said the government would explore ways to encourage pension funds, including GPIF, to hold more domestic assets.

That offered temporary support to the yen.

But with traders still pricing 34 basis points of US rate hikes this year, currency and bond volatility remain key risks for Asia’s rally.