In Asia, South Korea’s Kospi led the region’s gains, advancing more than 5%, while the Kosdaq gained 2%.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 0.34%, while the Topix was unchanged. Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.12%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 0.66%, while the CSI 300 rose 0.15%.
Shares of Samsung Electronics rose more than 4% on Wednesday amid a broader rally in technology stocks in the region.
The firm is also reportedly in talks to invest hundreds of millions of euros in artificial intelligence startup Mistral. The move is part of a financing round that could value the French firm at around 20 billion euros ($22.8 billion), the Financial Times reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
Shares of domestic competitor SK Hynix rose by more than 5%.
The main US average ended a streak of three losing sessions on Tuesday, supported by better-than-expected results from leading firms including 3M and General Motors, which helped ease concerns about the health of corporate America, SEEbiz reports. Chipmakers also led gains, with the VanEck Semiconductor ETF ( SMH ) up 4% as investors returned to AI-related names.
Investors remain focused on whether strong demand for AI infrastructure and software will continue to justify higher valuations in the tech sector as earnings season accelerates.
“The second quarter earnings season is ramping up, but with most hyperscalers yet to report, the market is still waiting for definitive conclusions on how AI investments are monetized and translated into future capex,” said Julia Hermann, global market strategist at New York Life Investment Management.
Earnings are back in the spotlight on Wednesday, with reports coming from ServiceNow, International Business Machines, Tesla, Texas Instruments, Alphabet and AT&T. Investors will be closely watching news on AI spending, demand for cloud services, corporate technology budgets and the outlook for the second half of the year.
