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Investing.com-- Asian stocks advanced on Thursday on strength in technology and healthcare, with South Korean shares hitting record highs as local chipmakers rallied on optimism over more artificial intelligence development.
Regional trading volumes remained muted on account of a week-long holiday in mainland Chinese markets. Indian markets were also closed for a holiday.
Asian markets tracked some overnight strength in Wall Street, as investors largely looked past a U.S. government shutdown. The S&P 500 ended at a record high on support from healthcare and tech.
S&P 500 Futures rose 0.1% in Asian trade.
S.Korea’s KOSPI at record high as OpenAI deal sparks chip rally
South Korea’s KOSPI was by far the best performer in Asian trade, rallying 3% to a record high of 3,565.71 points.
SK Hynix Inc (KS:000660) and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (KS:005930) were the top boosts to the index, after they signed a preliminary deal to supply chips to artificial intelligence major OpenAI. The two will also build data centers with OpenAI in South Korea.
SK Hynix jumped 11% to a record high, while Samsung rallied 4.5% to a near six-year peak.
The two are the largest memory chip makers in the world, and will provide advanced memory for OpenAI’s Stargate venture– a $500 billion project to build data centers in the United States.
SK Hynix is already a key supplier of advanced high-bandwidth memory chips to the AI industry, with NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) ranking among the company’s biggest clients. Samsung was also recently approved to supply Nvidia with advanced HBM chips.
Strength in tech helped investors largely look past stronger-than-expected South Korean consumer price index inflation data, which could dent the Bank of Korea’s plans to cut interest rates further.
Broader Asian tech stocks advanced on Thursday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index surged 1.6% on a rally in major Chinese internet stocks, while Singapore’s Straits Times index rose 1.1%.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index added 0.3% on some strength in tech, while the TOPIX fell 0.5% after strong gains in the prior session.
Australian stocks rise as miners encouraged by talk of US investment
Australia’s ASX 200 rose 1.1% on Thursday, buoyed by strength in local mining stocks.
The U.S. government has offered to buy equity in Australian critical mineral companies to expand supply and cut its reliance on China, Reuters reported on Thursday. The report comes as the White House took stakes in several U.S. companies this year to boost competitiveness and local supply chains.
The report boosted critical mineral stocks, especially those with exposure to lithium, cobalt, and rare earths. Broader mining and mineral stocks also advanced.
Mining giants BHP Group Ltd (ASX:BHP) and Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX:RIO) rose around 2% each and were the top boosts to the ASX. Smaller players including Lynas Rare Earths Ltd (ASX:LYC) and lithium miners Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX:PLS) and Liontown Resources Ltd (ASX:LTR) rose between 2% and 8%.
Investors largely looked past data showing a sharp, outsized decline in Australia’s trade balance in August.