Investing.com– Most Asian stocks rose on Tuesday, aided by a recovery in chipmaking and artificial intelligence stocks from bruising losses in recent sessions, while some easing military tensions in the Middle East also helped.
South Korea’s led gains for the day after losses in chipmakers sent the index spiraling in the prior session. Chinese shares rose after trade data for May read stronger than expected on outsized growth in exports.
Regional markets took a mixed lead-in from Wall Street, where technology shares rebounded from deep losses, while other sectors were less upbeat. Markets were encouraged by Israel and Iran agreeing to halt strikes against each other following demands from U.S. President Donald Trump.
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S&P 500 Futures rose slightly in Asian trade after Trump said the U.S. will declare “total victory” over Iran in two weeks.
KOSPI surges on chips recovery, strong GDP
South Korea’s KOSPI index surged 3% on a rebound in heavyweight chipmaking stocks, after tumbling 8.3% in the prior session.
Memory chip giants Samsung Electronics Co Ltd () jumped 3.4%, while SK Hynix Inc () surged 7.7%. The latter was also aided by announcing a major partnership with top AI chipmaker Nvidia.
South Korean markets were also encouraged by an upward revision in first-quarter gross domestic product data, which showed the economy growing 1.8% in the first quarter. The increase was driven chiefly by strong semiconductor exports.
Japan’s index also benefited from a recovery in tech, rising 0.9% after an over 4% drop in the prior session. The index added 0.5%.
Chipmaker Tokyo Electron Ltd. () jumped 7.6% and was the top performer on the Nikkei, while SoftBank Group Corp. () fell 0.8%.
But despite Tuesday’s recovery, technology stocks remained skittish after a major wipeout in the sector in recent sessions. Markets questioned whether the AI rally had run too hard, while broader concerns over rising interest rates and the Middle East conflict also spurred profit-taking in the sector.
Chinese shares rise on strong trade data
China’s and rose 0.4% each after data showed China’s grew more than expected in May.
The increase was driven chiefly by an outsized jump in exports, and signaled that the country’s playbook of export-driven economic growth remained squarely in play.
Chinese imports also blew past expectations on more local demand for semiconductors and AI data center components.
Local stocks showed little reaction to the U.S. adding tech giants including Alibaba Group (), Baidu Inc (), and BYD () to a blacklist of companies with ties to the Chinese military. Baidu and BYD rose slightly, while Alibaba fell 0.5%.
Hong Kong’s index fell 0.2%.
Among broader Asian markets, Singapore’s rose 1.1%.
Australia’s lagged, falling 0.3% on weakness in local mining stocks.
Futures for India’s index fell 0.2%, pointing to a muted open after the Nifty slid 1% in the prior session. Indian shares have largely lagged their Asian peers in recent months amid growing anxiety over the impact of high oil prices on the import-dependent Indian economy.