Equity Rally Extends; Chip Stocks Outperform

Most Asia-Pac equity indices are firmer at writing, bucking a mildly negative lead from Wall St. (major cash benchmarks closed ~0.1-0.3% softer on Wednesday), with a gauge of Asian stocks on track for a third straight higher daily close (MSCI Asia APEX 50: +0.3%).

• The TAIEX (+0.3%) was lifted by outperformance in semiconductors (+0.5%), reflecting a region-wide bid in semiconductor stocks ahead of heavyweight Samsung Electronics’ earnings on Friday (likely also benefiting from tailwinds after a Morgan Stanley note earlier in the week expressed bullishness on South Korean and Taiwanese chip stocks).
• South Korean equities have rallied for a third day, with the tech-heavy KOSDAQ (+2.7%) outpacing the benchmark KOSPI (+1.4%), reflecting the session’s chipmaker-led bid.
• The Nikkei 225 (+0.9%) is on track for a fourth consecutive higher daily close, operating a little below freshly-made three-week highs at typing, with the Information Technology sector (+1.8%) leading gains.
• The Hang Seng (-0.4%) bucked the broader trend of gains amongst regional peers, dragged lower by underperformance in China-based tech (HSTECH: -0.9%).
• E-minis deal 0.4-0.6% firmer apiece at writing, reversing earlier losses, but have failed to meaningfully break above their respective best levels established on Wednesday.