- The Asian semiconductor sector rebounded strongly after this week's tech stock sell-off, as investors regained confidence in long-term capital expenditure in the AI field, temporarily setting aside concerns about the escalation of US-Iran military conflict and oil supply risks in the Strait of Hormuz.
- South Korea and Japan led the Asia-Pacific markets, with South Korea's KOSPI index rebounding over 3% in a single day after entering bear market territory. SK Hynix completed significant overseas financing, and heavyweight stocks like Samsung Electronics rose significantly, effectively reversing the market's extreme pessimism.
- Major global chip manufacturers have recently announced plans for supply chain expansion and capacity building. The large-scale long-term investment commitments from industry giants like Micron Technology provide strong momentum for the revaluation of the Asian tech hardware and electronic components supply chain.
Tech Giants' Capital Expenditure Plans Reshape Market Confidence
The strong performance of the semiconductor sector is directly boosted by aggressive capital expenditure plans from companies. Micron Technology announced a significant increase in its long-term investment total, while SK Hynix completed pricing for a $26.5 billion American Depositary Shares issuance, oversubscribed by seven times. These massive financing and investment plans not only validate the strong global demand for high-bandwidth memory and storage chips but also attract overseas funds back into Asia-Pacific core tech assets, significantly restoring valuations of related supply chain companies.
Korean and Japanese Heavyweight Tech Stocks Lead Regional Benchmark Index Rebound
Stimulated by the marginal impact of large-scale capital expenditure news, South Korean and Japanese benchmark indices saw short-covering and active buying after consecutive declines. Chip giants like Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix led the gains, while Japan's Murata Manufacturing and flash memory maker Kioxia Holdings also recorded significant increases. Additionally, expectations that Japan's Government Pension Investment Fund may increase its domestic stock allocation further improved market risk appetite, narrowing the week's losses for the TOPIX and Nikkei 225 indices.
Geopolitical Risk Diminishment and Policy Divergence Coexist
Despite the renewed pressure on the Middle East geopolitical situation due to a new round of US-Iran military clashes, the global financial market's response to geopolitical risks has diminished, with capital flows indicating a greater focus on corporate fundamentals. Meanwhile, monetary policies within the Asia-Pacific region show divergence, with Malaysia's central bank opting to hold steady, while New Zealand's Reserve Bank has taken a rate hike approach. This macro policy mismatch has led to partial adjustments in cross-border capital allocation within the region.
Policy Expectations and Commodity Cooperation Boost China-Australia Markets
The Greater China and Australian stock markets are also supported by specific policy and industry benefits. The Hong Kong Hang Seng Index and the mainland CSI 300 Index rose amid volatility, with market funds positioning ahead of the release of key Chinese economic data next week, betting on policy support. The Australian stock market benefited from deepening industrial cooperation between China-Australia and Australia-India, with uranium miners like Paladin Energy surging due to uranium export cooperation agreements, reflecting the long-term demand for upstream commodities driven by the global nuclear power construction wave.
