Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed Tuesday, after Wall Street’s tech stocks rebounded on a rally in Google parent and hopes of a Fed rate cut.
Optimism about Alphabet’s standing in the AI race started last week after the tech giant announced its upgraded AI model, Gemini 3. The stock closed 6.31% higher Monday. Other AI-related stocks, such as Broadcom and Micron Technology, also popped higher, building on a wider rebound that started on Friday, when the head of the New York Federal Reserve left the door open to a December interest rate cut.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index closed flat at 48,659.52, and the Topix index fell 0.21% to end at 3,290.89.
AI-related stocks were among the top gainers on the Nikkei 225, with semiconductor testing equipment supplier Advantest trading 4.18% higher and Tokyo Electron, which provides essential chipmaking equipment to foundries that manufacture Nvidia’s chips, gained 3.05%. However, chip equipment maker Lasertec gave up earlier gains, closing flat.
South Korea’s Kospi index rose 0.3% to close at 3,857.78, while the small-cap Kosdaq pared earlier gains to close flat at 856.03. Index heavyweights SK Hynix fell 0.19% and Samsung Electronics rose 2.69%.
Australia’s ASX/S&P 200 closed 0.14% higher in volatile trading, at 8,537.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index and the Hang Seng Tech index pared gains to 0.22% and 0.42%, respectively. The mainland’s CSI 300 climbed 0.99%.
India’s Nifty 50 was flat in early trading, while the BSE Sensex index pared gains to hover above the flatline.
U.S. equity futures were little changed in early Asian hours.
Overnight, the S&P 500 rose 1.55% to close at 6,705.12, while the Nasdaq Composite jumped 2.69% to settle at 22,872.01. It was the tech-heavy index’s best day since May 12, when it rose 4.35%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 202.86 points, or 0.44%, to end at 46,448.27.
— CNBC’s Sean Conlon and Yun Li contributed to this report.
Source: CNBC