Story
Asian Stocks Advance as Tech Rebound, Oil Retreat Ease Inflation Concerns
Asian stocks gained on Friday, lifted by a rebound in technology shares and a retreat in oil prices that tempered inflation concerns, with market participants closely watching for a monetary policy announcement from the Bank of Japan.
The positive sentiment followed a strong overnight session in the U.S., where the Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.7% and the S&P 500 gained 1.1%. The rally was fueled by a recovery in tech stocks and falling bond yields, providing a favorable backdrop for Asian markets.
Regional Markets and Sector Performance
Major indexes across the region posted gains, tracking the positive lead from Wall Street. The broad MSCI Asia Pacific index rose approximately 0.5%.
- South Korea’s KOSPI was a standout performer, climbing 2.1%.
- Japan’s Nikkei 225 advanced 0.9%, and China’s CSI 300 added 0.6%.
- In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index rose 0.7%.
The technology sector saw significant buying interest, spurred by a 3.14% surge in the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. Key Asian chipmakers rallied, with SK Hynix rising 4.5% and Samsung Electronics gaining 2.8%. Despite the day's gains, some indexes like the KOSPI remained lower for the week, reflecting earlier volatility in the AI sector.
AdOil Prices and Bond Yields Ease
The decline in crude oil prices continued to alleviate pressure on bond markets and inflation expectations. Brent crude fell 1.2% to $103.56 a barrel, marking its third consecutive session of losses. Correspondingly, the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield retreated to 4.93% after briefly touching 5.02% earlier in the week.
Bank of Japan Decision in Focus
Investors are now awaiting the Bank of Japan's policy decision. The meeting comes after data showed Japan’s core consumer inflation slowed to 1.7% in August from 1.8% in July. Markets are widely anticipating the central bank will raise its policy rate, with attention focused on Governor Kazuo Ueda's subsequent remarks for signals on the future pace of monetary tightening.
Read next
More on Stocks
FTC Orders Walmart, Uber, Delta to Disclose Data on Personalized Pricing
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is demanding nine major companies, including leading retail, travel, and gig economy firms, to provide information on how they use consumer data for setting individual prices and wages.
Google Launches Gemini 4 Carbon AI Model to Bolster Cybersecurity Capabilities
Alphabet's Google has unveiled Gemini 4 Carbon, its latest AI model specifically designed for advanced cybersecurity tasks like vulnerability detection and secure code generation. The launch escalates competition with rivals OpenAI and Anthropic in the enterprise AI market.
Oracle Shares Surge After Unveiling $225 Billion Revenue Target for 2030
Oracle stock rose sharply after the company presented a long-term financial outlook targeting at least $225 billion in annual revenue by fiscal 2030, driven by its expanding AI infrastructure business.
DOJ Scrutinizes Nvidia's $12.9B Hugging Face Deal Amid Broader Antitrust Probe, Sources Say
The U.S. Department of Justice is reportedly examining Nvidia's planned $12.93 billion acquisition of AI platform Hugging Face as part of a wider, ongoing antitrust investigation into the chipmaker's market conduct.