Asian Shares Climb Led By Tech Stocks

(RTTNews) - Asian stocks rallied on Friday, with chip and AI firms leading the surge on the eve of SK Hynix's U.S. market debut.

Despite the U.S. and Iran exchanging fire, investors pinned hopes that the escalation of hostilities in the Middle East will be limited.

The U.S. dollar index was subdued in Asian trade while gold was marginally lower at $4,110 an ounce after a U.S. official said the U.S. will continue "technical talks" with Iran and remains committed to finding a solution to the conflict.

Brent crude prices held below $76 a barrel but remained on track for a 6 percent weekly gain after the U.S. carried out strikes on 90 Iranian targets and Tehran retaliated by targeting American bases in Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait.

China's Shanghai Composite index fell 1 percent to 3,996.16 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 0.6 percent to 24,175.12, driven by improvement in sentiment towards Chinese internet companies.

Japanese markets posted strong gains, supported by a rally in AI-related stocks. The Nikkei average surged 1.20 percent to 68,557.73 as the yen remained rooted near 40-year lows and the government unveiled plans to encourage pension funds to increase investments in domestic financial assets.

The broader Topix index settled 0.39 percent higher at 4,036.08. Among the top gainers, SoftBank Group, a key investor in OpenAI, soared 10.7 percent.

Semiconductor equipment maker Advantest gained 2.3 percent and Tokyo Electron added 2.7 percent.

Seoul stocks rose sharply, recovering some of losses from earlier in the week ahead of SK Hynix' debt on the Nasdaq in New York.

While SK Hynix shares ended slightly lower after a choppy ride, the Kospi index climbed 2.52 percent to 7,475.94 following a tech-led rally on Wall Street overnight. Shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean jumped 3.4 percent after reportedly selling around $2 billion in the dollar-won forward market.

Australian markets ended modestly higher as gold and mining stocks rebounded from recent string of losses.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 rose half a percent to 8,806, snapping a four-day losing streak as falling oil prices helped ease pressure on benchmark bond yields.

The broader All Ordinaries index closed 0.47 percent higher at 9,003.70. Markets in New Zealand were closed for Mtariki Day.

U.S. stocks fluctuated before closing higher overnight, with technology stocks leading the surge as SK Hynix's $28 billion U.S. share sale attracted immense demand and Micron Technology announced plans to invest up to $3 billion to strengthen the semiconductor supply chain.

Fears about a return to full-blow war subsided after President Donald Trump claimed that Iran wants to "make a deal so badly," but he doesn't know if they're worthy of making a deal.

Trump's comments came after U.S. Central Command said it hit 90 Iranian targets in the latest round of strikes and Iranian armed forces retaliated by launching attacks on U.S. military infrastructure in Gulf states.

While the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rallied 1.3 percent, the S&P 500 climbed 0.8 percent and the Dow edged up 0.3 percent.