Japanese and Korean AI-Related Stocks Surge with U.S. Markets! SoftBank Jumps Over 10%, SK Hynix and Samsung Rally

U.S. stocks rose broadly overnight, driven by strong corporate earnings and falling oil prices, with major indices hitting record highs. This momentum boosted Asian tech stocks, which rallied strongly on Wednesday (5th).

Japan's Nikkei 225 index surged over 2,200 points in early trading and remains up 1,900 points, or 3%, at 65,861. SoftBank Group (SoftBank Group) shares jumped over 10% at one point, semiconductor equipment maker Tokyo Electron rose 3.64%, test equipment provider Advantest gained 7%, and memory chip manufacturer Kioxia climbed 6.34%.

South Korea's Kospi index opened up 5% and is currently trading 3.5% higher at 6,581.87. Among individual stocks, SK Hynix surged 8%, Samsung Electronics rose over 4%, and Seoul Semiconductor climbed 7.6%.

Tech stocks have recently been highly volatile, with South Korea's market—dominated by semiconductor stocks—experiencing sharp swings between steep declines and new highs in a short period.

Andrew Jackson, strategist at Ortus Advisors, said Wednesday that the broad rally in U.S. semiconductor stocks on Tuesday further strengthened the bullish outlook for Asian AI-related equities, with chipmakers and AI infrastructure suppliers both benefiting.

Jackson expects SoftBank's stock to continue rising, citing the strong performance of ARM (ARM-US), the chip design firm in which SoftBank holds a majority stake, which surged on Tuesday. The market is optimistic about increased royalty revenue from AI data centers and new business opportunities from its central processing unit (CPU) development program.

U.S. stocks rose broadly on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average both reaching new all-time highs, supported by better-than-expected corporate earnings and expectations that the Strait of Hormuz could reopen, leading to further declines in oil prices.

The Nasdaq Composite Index surged 2.59%, closing at 26,584.99, with Palantir Technologies (PLTR-US) soaring over 29%.

Wall Street surged strongly on Tuesday (4th), with the S&P 500 index surpassing 7,700 for the first time. Experts say this was not due to a single factor, but rather the simultaneous impact of five key positives: U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent signaling progress in Iran negotiations, strong earnings season results, a broad tech stock rebound, the S&P breaking a key technical resistance level, and the easing of algorithmic sell-off risks.