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Equities Higher As AI Stocks Continue Rally

ASIA STOCKS

Asian equities continued their upward momentum for a second day, buoyed by Wall Street's record close and strong performance in chip and AI-related shares. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index advanced about 1%, with notable gains in technology stocks. The Kospi index hit its highest level since January 2022, driven by Nvidia's historic milestone. Taiwan and Japan also saw significant gains. Earlier, Japan trade deficit widened as exports increased on the lower yen.

  • Japanese equities opened higher, buoyed by gains in export-related stocks such as automobile and electrical machinery companies. Earlier, Japan Trade Balance was -¥1221.3b vs -¥1280.5b est, with the deficit widening from -¥465.6b in April, with exports rising to 13.5% from 8.3%. The Nikkei 225 rose 0.24% while the Topix Index increased by 0.44%, driven by expectations of US interest rate cuts. Toyota Motor Corp. contributed significantly to the gains. Semiconductor-related stocks also advanced following Nvidia's performance in the US market.
  • South Korean stocks opened higher with tech stocks leading the gains, Samsung Electronics up 1.6% and SK Hynix climbing 1.3%, following Nvidia's surge. Auto stocks like Hyundai Motor also performed well. However, some transport and energy stocks, such as Korean Air and Korea Gas saw declines. Foreign investors have been buyers of local stocks so far this morning, with majority of the flows heading into tech names. The Kospi is 0.96% higher, while the Kosdaq is unchanged.
  • Taiwan equities are higher today, there has been very little in the way of local headlines. The market is being led higher by semiconductor stocks, TSMC in particular which is up 1.91%. The Taiex is up 0.166%.
  • Australian equities are lower today, with financial stocks leading the decline. Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Helia Group Ltd. contributed significantly to the losses. Headlines have been limited in the region today while the data calendar is empty for the remainder of the week. The ASX200 is down 0.22%
  • Elsewhere, New Zealand equities are 0.66% lower, Philippines equities are 0.05% higher, Singapore equities are up 0.40%, Indonesia returned from a holiday with the JCI up 0.60%, Indian equities are little changed, while Malaysian equities are 0.20% lower.

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