Asian shares surged on Thursday, tracking a strong rally on Wall Street as bond market pressures eased and oil prices fell. The advance was fuelled by a better-than-expected quarterly report from chipmaker Nvidia, whose profit soared more than 200% year-on-year in the February-April quarter, with revenue up 85%. Nvidia has been a major beneficiary of the artificial intelligence boom, driven by demand for its high-end AI chips.
South Korea’s Kospi jumped 6.7% to 7,688.43, led by technology stocks. Samsung Electronics gained 6.3%, while SK Hynix, a partner of Nvidia, surged 9.5%. Taiwan’s Taiex rose 3.3%, with TSMC adding 2.3%. Chinese markets saw more modest gains: Hong Kong’s Hang Seng edged up 0.2% to 25,702.46, and the Shanghai Composite added 0.4% to 4,179.16.
Oil prices edged higher early Thursday after Brent crude dropped 5% on Wednesday. Brent gained 48 cents to $105.50 per barrel, while US benchmark crude added 52 cents to $98.78. Prices remain elevated above pre-war levels due to ongoing tensions in the Middle East.
On Wednesday, the S&P 500 rose 1.1% to 7,432.97, its first gain in four days. The Dow Jones added 1.3% to 50,009.35, and the Nasdaq rallied 1.5% to 26,270.36. The 10-year Treasury yield fell to 4.57% from 4.67%, providing relief to stock markets. Technology stocks led the rally, with Advanced Micro Devices up 8.1% and Intel up 7.4%.
Smaller companies also benefited from lower yields, with the Russell 2000 index jumping 2.6%. Red Robin Gourmet Burgers rose 18.2% and Cava Group gained 3.1% after better-than-expected profit reports. However, Target fell 3.9% despite strong quarterly results, as investors focused on its turnaround efforts under new CEO Michael Fiddelke.
In currency markets, the US dollar slipped to 158.85 Japanese yen from 158.92 yen, while the euro rose to $1.1631 from $1.1624.
