Asia-Pacific equities rallied to their biggest four-month gain after major tech
firms posted strong earnings that renewed optimism over AI demand and prompted
heavy buying in chipmakers. The MSCI Asia Pacific index rose 4.3% on Friday and
looks likely to notch a second straight weekly gain despite earlier volatility.
South Korea’s KOSPI led the advance, jumping about 17% on strength in Samsung
Electronics and SK Hynix, while Taiwan’s weighted index climbed more than 7%. A
senior market analyst at Vantage Global Prime said the rally reflected investors
temporarily lifting the ‘AI alarm’ as results gave fresh reasons to believe the
AI demand engine is still running, triggering purchases of hit names and
short-covering after a week of pronounced swings and worries about the
sustainability and returns of AI capex.
