Asian stocks staged a broad recovery on Wednesday as investors rotated back into technology-related shares, rekindling demand for names tied to artificial intelligence. The move followed a set of market signals that helped restore risk appetite - easing crude oil prices, declines in bond yields and encouraging U.S. corporate results that underpinned the AI narrative.
Overnight in the United States, technology-led strength accelerated, sending the S&P 500 to another record close after more companies reported AI-driven earnings that investors greeted positively. Nvidia led the mood in large-cap tech, rising more than 2% after Elon Musk publicly praised the chipmaker's processors for SpaceX's computing ambitions.
Not every AI-linked company shared in the upside. Advanced Micro Devices plunged about 9% after issuing guidance that disappointed the market, while SpaceX fell roughly 7.5% in extended trading when its first quarterly results as a public company highlighted higher-than-expected capital spending related to AI.
Heading into Asian hours, futures signalled continued calm risk-on sentiment: Nasdaq 100 futures were up roughly 0.3% and S&P 500 futures rose about 0.1%, extending the positive tone into regional trading.
Regional market action
The rebound was most pronounced across North Asia where chipmakers and other AI-exposed technology names led the advance following last week's heavy sector-wide selloff. Japan's stock markets outperformed, with the Nikkei 225 jumping about 3% and the broader TOPIX gaining nearly 3%.
- Murata Manufacturing jumped more than 8%.
- LARGAN Precision climbed over 7%.
- Kioxia rose nearly 5% and TDK Corp advanced almost 4%.
South Korea's KOSPI rallied by more than 3%, extending a sharp rebound from the prior session's selloff. Memory and hardware suppliers participated strongly: SK Hynix jumped over 6% while Samsung Electronics added nearly 4%.
Mainland Chinese equities also recovered. The Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 rose about 2% while the Shanghai Composite gained around 1%. On the mainland, Foxconn Industrial Internet surged nearly 9%, NAURA Technology jumped more than 7%, and both Cambricon Technologies and BOE Technology advanced over 5%.
Hong Kong shares gained ground as well, with the Hang Seng up roughly 1.6%. Alibaba climbed about 2% after unveiling its new Qwen3.8-Max artificial intelligence model earlier in the week; Tencent and Baidu each rose around 1%.
Australia and other markets
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 reached another record, trading near 9,166 points as of 0340 GMT after earlier touching a fresh peak above 9,200. The benchmark extended a 1.4% advance from the previous session, supported largely by miners and financials. Market participants noted a combination of new inflows at the start of the financial year and demand for a lower-beta destination amid volatility in high-beta, tech-focused markets across the region.
Regional energy producers lagged, with crude oil extending losses on reports of optimism about an interim understanding between Washington and Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The decline in energy prices contrasted with the tech-led rally.
India's central bank decision was also in focus. The Reserve Bank of India was set to announce its policy decision later in the session, with the Nifty 50 trading flat as markets widely expected the central bank to hold interest rates steady. Singapore's FTSE Straits Times Index rose about 0.5%.
Looking ahead
Market participants were watching upcoming U.S. data that could influence expectations for the Federal Reserve's next steps. ADP's private payrolls report on Wednesday and the July nonfarm payrolls report on Friday were highlighted as potential drivers for Fed-rate outlooks and market direction later in the week.
In short, the regional rebound was driven by renewed appetite for AI-exposed technology and semiconductor names following encouraging U.S. earnings, tempered by pockets of weakness in energy and mixed results among individual AI-related companies.