Asian stocks were a mixed bag on Monday, with Japanese and South Korean markets leading gains on a rebound in technology shares, while China lagged even as data showed a mild improvement in local inflation.
Regional markets took some positive cues from U.S. stock futures, which rose on reports that a long-running government shutdown was close to an end. S&P 500 Futures surged 0.6% in Asian trade.
But Asian markets were still nursing steep losses from last week, following a rout in technology stocks on doubts over artificial intelligence-driven valuations.
Nikkei, KOSPI rise on tech rebound Japan’s Nikkei 225 and South Korea’s KOSPI were the best performers for the day, rising 1.2% and 2.8%, respectively. Gains in tech also helped Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rise 0.3%.
The indexes were aided chiefly by a rebound in technology shares, as investors bought the dip in the sector following deep losses last week.
South Korean chipmakers SK Hynix Inc (KS:000660) and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (KS:005930) jumped 5% and 2.3%, respectively, while Japan’s Advantest Corp. (TYO:6857) and Tokyo Electron Ltd. (TYO:8035) added 3.9% and 4.3%, respectively. Taiwan’s TSMC (TW:2330) rose 1% in early trade.
In addition to bargain buying, chipmakers were also supported by comments from NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang, that the company was seeing very strong demand for its advanced Blackwell AI chips.
But concerns over AI-fueled valuations in tech were a major driver of last week’s losses.
Among other sectors, Japanese e-commerce firm Mercari Inc (TYO:4385) soared over 10% and was the top performer on the Nikkei 225 after clocking strong quarterly earnings.
China lags despite mildly positive inflation China’s Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 and Shanghai Composite indexes moved in a flat-to-low range on Monday.
Data released over the weekend showed China’s consumer price index inflation rose more than expected in October, aided by the Golden Week holiday.
The print showed Chinese consumer inflation rising for the first time since June, drumming up hopes for a bigger pick-up in inflation.
Producer price index inflation also shrank slightly less than expected. But the print also logged its 37th consecutive month in red.
Despite the improvement in inflation, October’s data still showed China grappling with a persistent deflationary trend, as consumer spending remained weak after the Golden Week holiday.
Broader Asian stocks were a mixed bag on Monday. Singapore’s Straits Times index slid 0.8%, while Australia’s ASX 200 rose 0.7%.
The ASX was aided by a 1.8% rise in major lender ANZ Group Holdings Ltd (ASX:ANZ), as pledges of more cost cuts helped investors look past a weaker-than-expected annual cash profit.
Futures for India’s Nifty 50 index rose 0.4%.
