Market Overview
Asian equities rallied on Friday, with the KOSPI surging 4.2% and the Nikkei 225 climbing about 2%, reversing an earlier technology‑led sell‑off. The broader Asian basket posted gains: Hong Kong Hang Seng +1.8%, Shanghai Composite +0.4%, and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 +0.7%.
Semiconductor Sector Momentum
Samsung Electronics Co Ltd rose 4.9% after leading the week’s decline, while SK Hynix Inc priced a $26.5 billion U.S. American depositary share (ADS) offering that attracted demand more than seven times the shares on offer and will trade under the ticker SKHY, giving U.S. investors direct exposure to one of Nvidia’s biggest high‑bandwidth memory suppliers. SK Hynix’s stock remains up roughly 680% over the past 12 months. Micron Technology Inc announced it will increase its planned U.S. investment to roughly $250 billion through 2035 to expand memory‑chip production capacity.
Other Corporate Moves
Bain Capital completed its exit from flash‑memory maker Kioxia Holdings Corp, after which Kioxia shares rose about 5.7%. Murata Manufacturing Co climbed about 3.9% on the Tokyo exchange. In Australia, uranium miners rallied after Australia and India agreed to deepen cooperation on uranium exports, with Paladin Energy up about 5%, Boss Energy jumping more than 8%, and Deep Yellow gaining around 9%.
Geopolitical and Policy Context
The rally occurred despite fresh U.S. strikes on Iran and retaliatory missile and drone attacks, keeping Strait of Hormuz risks and oil‑supply concerns in view, though oil prices stayed supported. Investors largely ignored the heightened geopolitical risk, focusing on the AI investment narrative. Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) is considering increasing its allocation to domestic equities, providing a fresh tailwind for the market. Central bank actions diverged: Bank Negara Malaysia left its overnight policy rate unchanged at 2.75%, while the Reserve Bank of New Zealand raised its official cash rate by 25 basis points and signalled further tightening may be needed.
Outlook
Upcoming regional catalysts include China’s June trade figures, second‑quarter GDP, retail sales and industrial production, Singapore’s advance GDP estimate, India’s June inflation report, and the Bank of Korea’s policy meeting, all expected to shape sentiment across Asian markets.