Investing.com– Asian stocks were mostly higher on Thursday, with Japanese chipmakers leading gains after strong results from Micron Technology, while softer-than-expected U.S. inflation data eased expectations of another Federal Reserve rate hike this month.
U.S. stock index futures also climbed in Asian trading with tech-heavy Nasdaq futures outperforming. Wall Street closed mixed overnight.
Nikkei jumps on chipmaker gains after Micron earnings
Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped 3.3%, led by chip-related stocks, while the broader TOPIX edged up 0.7%.
Advantest Corp (TYO:6857) shares jumped ore than 8%, while Kioxia Holdings (TYO:285A) gained 5%. Tokyo Electron (TYO:8035) shares climbed about 6%.
U.S. chipmaker Micron (NASDAQ:MU) forecast first-quarter revenue above analysts’ estimate, reinforcing expectations that artificial intelligence demand will continue to support memory-chip sales.
The Taiwan Weighted index edged up 0.9%, with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) (TW:2330) shares rising 1.3%.
South Korea’s KOSPI rose 1.6%, with Samsung Electronics (KS:005930) and SK Hynix (KS:000660) climbing 2.5% and 3%, respectively.
Data showed that South Korean exports jumped 83.5% from a year earlier, exceeding expectations, with semiconductor shipments reaching a record high as global AI investment continued to boost chip demand.
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Elsewhere in Asia, India’s Nifty 50 edged down 0.2%, while Singapore’s Straits Times Index gained 0.4%.
Chinese mainland markets were closed for the National Day holiday, while Hong Kong also shut on Thursday. Mainland Chinese exchanges will remain closed through Oct. 7 and resume trading on Oct. 8.
Australia trade surplus falls sharply
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 closed nearly 2% lower, bucking the regional trend.
Data on Thursday showed the country’s goods trade surplus narrowed sharply in August. The surplus fell to A$495 million from a revised A$1.351 billion in July and undershot economists’ expectations of about A$2 billion.
Exports rose 3.7% from the previous month, but imports increased 5.8%, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
The trade figures came after Australia’s monthly inflation indicator accelerated to 4.0% in August from 3.5% in July, although trimmed-mean inflation held at 3.6%.
The data have kept attention on the Reserve Bank of Australia’s policy outlook following its latest rate hike this week.
Source: finance.yahoo.com
