Asian benchmarks mostly rise after tech stocks lead rally on Wall Street

Asian stock markets opened higher on Friday, buoyed by a rally on Wall Street driven primarily by technology stocks, according to wire reports. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index climbed 0.6% to 64,622.33, while South Korea’s Kospi index increased 0.9% to 6,635.67. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 remained relatively flat, down less than 0.1% to 9,011.80. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index surged 2.1% to 25,751.26, and China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.8% to 3,973.27.

The rally on Wall Street continued into Thursday, with the S&P 500 up 1.1%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining 1.2%, and the Nasdaq composite closing 1.4% higher. Communication services stocks played a significant role in the market's upward trend, with major players such as Microsoft, Apple, and Meta leading the charge. Microsoft shares surged 2.7%, Apple rose 1%, and Meta climbed 3%.

Additionally, Nvidia, a leading chipmaker crucial for artificial intelligence, experienced an 1.8% increase after announcing its acquisition of AI platform Hugging Face for $13 billion.

Energy prices also saw a modest uptick due to ongoing geopolitical tensions, with U.S. crude oil prices rising by 65 cents to $91.95 per barrel and Brent crude increasing by 47 cents to $95.99 per barrel. The ongoing conflict with Iran, which has escalated recently, has contributed significantly to the recent surge in energy prices, affecting many nations, particularly those reliant on imports from the Middle East, like Japan.