Asian markets traded mostly higher in early deals on Thursday, driven by a sharp rally in semiconductor shares after major US technology companies announced aggressive artificial intelligence (AI) capital expenditure plans. Meanwhile, investors kept a close watch on oil prices after Iran-backed Houthi militants said they had targeted two Saudi Arabian tankers in the Red Sea. South Korea’s KOSPI prolonged its gains into a third consecutive session. Market sentiment improved globally after Alphabet exceeded quarterly revenue projections due to robust cloud expansions and significantly increased its future AI infrastructure investments.
Nikkei up by 294.40 points or 0.45% to 66,410.00, KOSPI Index surged by 242.27 points or 3.56% to 7,039.97, Hang Seng soared by 353.34 points or 1.40% to 25,246.00, Jakarta Composite added by 53.81 points or 0.85% to 6,388.29, and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI index lifted by 0.43 points or 0.03% to 1,711.80.
On the flip side, Straits Times down by 35.06 points or 0.63% to 5,560.36, Taiwan weighted dipped by 308.92 points or 0.69% to 44,516.86 and Shanghai Composite declined by 7.34 points or 0.19% to 3,859.69.
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