Asian shares mostly advanced on Thursday after Nvidia's stronger-than-expected earnings eased some investor concerns about the artificial intelligence boom. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 briefly crossed the 59,000 mark for the first time, before settling 0.2% higher at 58,715.33. SoftBank Group shares rose 3.5%, while chipmaker Tokyo Electron lost 2.8%.
South Korea's Kospi surged 2.3% to 6,222.29, driven by tech gains. Samsung Electronics jumped 5.5% and SK Hynix gained 2.5%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.4% to 26,656.29, while the Shanghai Composite edged 0.1% lower to 4,144.08. Taiwan's Taiex rose 0.2% and India's Sensex traded 0.3% higher.
Nvidia's quarterly revenue jumped 73% year-on-year to $68 billion, with a forecast of $78 billion for the current quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations. CEO Jensen Huang said demand for Nvidia chips is 'skyrocketing' and that 'AI is here, AI is not going to go back.' Nvidia shares rose 0.2% in after-hours trading.
In other markets, US benchmark crude oil rose 16 cents to $65.58 per barrel, while Brent crude gained 21 cents to $71.90. Gold and silver prices fell. The dollar weakened against the yen, trading at 155.89 yen, and the euro edged up to $1.1817.
