Asian equities extended a pronounced technology-led recovery on Tuesday, with South Korea and Japan posting some of the largest gains as buyers returned to chipmakers that had been previously sold off following a strong rebound on Wall Street.
The region-wide advance was supported by a fall in oil prices, which eased investor concerns about rising inflation after U.S. President Donald Trump suggested further strikes on Iran were unlikely if nuclear negotiations moved forward. Still, uncertainty related to a board probe into potential foreign targeting of Nvidia's CEO, Jensen Huang, and the forthcoming U.S. inflation report tempered sentiment.
Market moves and futures
The MSCI Asia Pacific index climbed 2% on the session. National benchmarks rallied, led by South Korea's KOSPI, which rose 4.3%, Japan's Nikkei 225, up 2.8%, and the TOPIX, which advanced 2.2%.
Wall Street posted its largest one-day gain in roughly seven months, lifting major U.S. indexes: the S&P 500 gained 2.4%, the Nasdaq Composite rose 2.7%, the Nasdaq 100 jumped 3.4%, the Dow added 2.15% and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index surged 6.9%. In Asian hours, Nasdaq 100 futures were unchanged while S&P 500 futures inched higher by 0.1%.
Semiconductors and tech names lead
Chipmakers and related technology suppliers were the clear beneficiaries of the risk-on mood. SK Hynix climbed 6.3% and Samsung Electronics rose 4.9%. Other technology-related gains included Kioxia up 6.6%, TDK up 5.2%, Murata up 5.9% and LG Innotek up 5.1%.
Taiwan's Taiex index rallied as much as 6.4% intraday. Within Taiwan, TSMC advanced 0.9%, optical lens maker Largan surged 5.6% and Foxconn added 0.5%. Japan's Sony was an exception among large-cap tech names, slipping 0.4%.
Nvidia shares fell 4.2% after reports alleged a possible link between the company's CEO and a Chinese businesswoman suspected of passing information to Beijing, prompting a board probe into whether the CEO had been targeted. The Nvidia board said it found no evidence of compromised company secrets. Nvidia is due to report quarterly results next week.
Taiwan stabilisation measures and market context
Taiwan's seven-session slide - its longest such streak since 2022 - reversed after regulators sharply tightened market controls. Authorities cut short-selling limits to 3% of 30-day average volume from 30%, increased margin requirements to 130% from 90%, and kept a NT$500 billion stabilisation fund available.
Recent losses had pushed Japan and Taiwan into bear markets last week, while South Korea's index sat more than 40% below its summer peak and Taiwan's was about 16% below its record. The article notes that both Samsung and SK Hynix had each lost more than 16% prior to the rebound.
Energy and geopolitical signals
Brent crude traded at $91.56 a barrel, down 1% following nearly a 6% drop on Monday that took prices to an early-September low. The decline in oil followed comments from President Trump that further strikes on Iran would be unlikely if nuclear talks progressed, remarks he made after meeting Qatar's prime minister.
Regional economic data and corporate developments
China's October trade figures showed exports rising 35.2%, beating forecasts of 33.5% but easing from September's 36.3% pace. Imports jumped 41.6%, outperforming estimates of around 32%. The piece notes China’s trade surplus exceeded $1 trillion for a second consecutive year, supported in part by shipments tied to artificial intelligence demand; China has been ASEAN’s largest trading partner since 2009.
Japan's household spending fell 6.8% year-on-year in September, a sharper drop than the 3.1% decline expected and the steepest fall since 2020. The weakness in consumption adds complexity to the Bank of Japan's policy outlook, with markets pricing in a possible rate move by December 18 from the current 1.25% level.
Separately, Anthropic launched new AI models, Fable 5.2 and Mythos 5.2, ahead of a potential IPO roadshow, seeking up to $69.3 billion. The company's IPO and results from CoreWeave were identified as tests of investor appetite for AI-related assets, coming after hedge funds rapidly reduced technology exposure.
Other regional moves
New Zealand's NZX 50 rose 1% amid election developments; preliminary party votes showed Labour leading National by a narrow margin, though National held more seats in the count cited and about 400,000 special votes remained to be counted with final results due November 27.
The ASX 200 gained 1.1%, Singapore's STI rose 1.6% and India's Nifty-50 futures were broadly flat.
Near-term macro focus
Market attention shifted to U.S. consumer price data due Tuesday. October headline CPI and core prices were both forecast to rise 0.3% and 0.2%, respectively. The article reiterates that odds of a further Federal Reserve rate move had increased to 84% from 74% a week earlier after stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs data.
The markets remain sensitive to geopolitical cues, corporate governance inquiries at major technology firms, and upcoming U.S. inflation data, all of which could influence the durability of the current rally.