SoftBank jumps 10% as Asia tech stocks track Wall Street AI rally

Asian technology stocks experienced a notable surge on Wednesday following a strong performance on Wall Street overnight, driven by robust corporate earnings and decreasing oil prices. This led to major U.S. indexes achieving new record highs. SoftBank Group emerged as the standout performer, with its shares soaring more than 10%.

Additionally, chip equipment maker Tokyo Electron saw a rise of 3.64%, while Advantest climbed by 7% and Japanese memory chipmaker Kioxia increased by 6.34%. In South Korea, SK Hynix witnessed a 6.9% boost, while Samsung Electronics recorded a gain of over 4%, and Seoul Semiconductor experienced a 7.6% increase. The volatility in tech stocks, particularly in South Korea's semiconductor-heavy market, has been on the rise, with intermittent periods of steep losses followed by record gains.

Andrew Jackson, a strategist at Ortus Advisors, expressed optimism about the rally in U.S. semiconductor stocks, suggesting it would bolster the bullish outlook for Asian AI-related stocks. He pointed to a surge in chipmakers and infrastructure suppliers overnight, which had prompted the latest rally. Jackson anticipates further gains for SoftBank, citing Arm Holdings, its majority-owned chip design subsidiary, which saw a significant jump the previous day due to optimism surrounding higher AI-related data center royalties and plans for central processing units.

U.S. stocks had a remarkable Tuesday, with both the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average hitting all-time highs. This positive trend was fueled by strong earnings and a further decline in oil prices, driven by increased hopes that the Strait of Hormuz might reopen, alleviating concerns over global energy supplies.