Investing.com– Most Asian stocks rose on Tuesday as Chinese markets returned from the Lunar New Year holiday on stronger footing, while Hong Kong shares fell sharply on persistent concerns over artificial intelligence-driven disruption in the technology sector.
The prospect of lower U.S. trade tariffs against regional economies also aided shares, with export-oriented sectors in Japan and South Korea both advancing.
This in turn helped Asian stocks shrug off a weak lead-in from Wall Street, where a mix of tariff uncertainty and AI disruptions spurred deep losses on Monday. S&P 500 Futures rose 0.3% in Asian trade, with focus turning to upcoming earnings from , which are due on Wednesday.
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China stocks reopen higher after Lunar New Year
China’s Shanghai Shenzhen and indexes rose 1.3% and 1.1%, respectively, clocking a strong return as trade resumed after the nine-day Lunar New Year Holiday.
Gains were driven chiefly by strength in export-oriented sectors, as investors welcomed the prospect of lower U.S. trade tariffs against China.
This was after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last week that a bulk of President Donald Trump’s trade tariffs were illegal, with the levies set to end from Tuesday.
While Trump did announce more tariffs under a different legal framework, they were not targeted specifically against China. The new duties were also relatively lower than Trump’s prior tariffs.
Beyond trade, signs of strong consumer spending during the Lunar New Year also boosted sentiment towards China, as markets bet that the spending will translate into more economic strength.
Hong Kong slides as AI worries batter tech
Hong Kong’s index was the worst performer in Asia, sliding nearly 2% on losses in local tech and pharmaceutical shares.
Tech in particular was battered by heightened concerns that AI developments will eat into the sector, especially after AI startup Anthropic released a host of tools it claimed could reduce reliance on traditional software.
A report from Citrini Research, which speculated over a potentially dystopian future if AI developments continued as forecast, also added to some selling pressure on tech names.
Hong Kong’s three largest tech stocks– , , and – fell between 2.8% and 4.0%.
But smaller AI firms, such as and ZhipuAI (trading as ) clocked strong gains, rising 7% and 16.4%, respectively.
Broader Asian stocks mostly advanced on Tuesday, with export-oriented sectors benefiting from the prospect of lower U.S. trade tariffs.
South Korea’s jumped 1.6% to a record high, aided by gains in exporters and local chipmakers. Memory chip makers and clocked strong gains, with both stocks hitting new peaks on bets that AI-fueled demand will greatly boost their top-lines.
Top SK Hynix executives on Monday pledged to further increase production of memory chips amid increasing demand from the AI industry.
Nvidia’s earnings are now expected to provide more cues for Samsung and SK Hynix, given that the two are positioned as major memory chip suppliers to the world’s most valuable company.
Japan’s added 0.9% on gains in local exporters, while the rose 0.1%.
Australia’s lagged, falling 0.1%, while Singapore’s Straits Times index fell 0.7%.
Futures for India’s index rose 0.1%, with local exporters taking limited relief from the U.S. Supreme Court ruling.
Trump on Monday threatened to further increase his trade tariffs if countries deviated from recent trade deals signed with Washington.