Asian equity markets saw an increase on Friday after a bruising sell-off, with South Korea’s KOSPI and Japan’s Nikkei 225 posting sharp gains as investors renewed bets on the AI trade. Strong quarterly results from Microsoft and Amazon restored confidence that heavy investments in AI infrastructure continue to deliver tangible returns, lifting semiconductor stocks across the region.
The rally began after Microsoft projected positive long-term cash flows from its AI investments. Amazon reported its strongest cloud computing growth in more than four years. It alleviated worries about high spending on AI leading to unprofitability and helped fuel an overall rally in technology shares.
Such optimism spread rapidly in Asia, where semiconductor makers have been reaping the benefits of the AI boom around the world, and South Korea emerged as the biggest winner. The KOSPI surged 18%, its strongest single-day gain on record. AI memory chip giants
Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix rallied sharply. Thus, helping erase a portion of the steep losses suffered earlier this week, and Japan’s Nikkei 225 also climbed strongly.
The rebound followed a three-day market rout, wiping billions off regional equity markets. This comes after fears of stretched AI valuations and rising competition from Chinese chipmakers.
Experts suggest the sector’s long-term outlook remains positive, but market swings are expected to continue as optimism and caution battle for control.
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