Asian stock markets were trading sharply higher on Friday, July 10, after Micron Technology said it would lift spending on new U.S. plants to $250 billion to meet demand from the artificial-intelligence boom, and as South Korea’s SK Hynix prepared for its U.S. market debut. South Korea’s Kospi had climbed about 3.5% to 7,545.51 by 11:20 a.m. in Seoul, according to Korea Exchange data, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose roughly 1.7% to trade near 68,900. Both markets were still open as this was written.

The move marked a second straight winning session for the two markets and a sharp recovery for Seoul, which had tumbled nearly 8% on Thursday when fears over stretched AI valuations sparked heavy foreign selling. The rebound followed Wall Street’s overnight gains, where the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.3%, the S&P 500 added 0.81% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 139 points.

Semiconductors are doing the heavy lifting. Micron’s commitment to a quarter-trillion dollars of U.S. capacity handed the whole memory-chip complex a lift, and traders across the region are watching SK Hynix’s U.S. listing, which priced at $149 a share and was reported more than seven times oversubscribed — one of the largest first-time foreign offerings on record. In Seoul, Samsung Electronics rose about 3.8% and parts affiliate Samsung Electro-Mechanics jumped 6.4%. In Tokyo, memory maker Kioxia advanced more than 4% and technology investor SoftBank Group surged close to 7%, pushing past the 60,000-yen mark.

The other tailwind is easing geopolitical risk. A U.S. official said late Thursday that Washington remains committed to a resolution with Iran, with technical talks continuing and regional mediators pushing to revive a nuclear deal. That cooled the war premium that had gripped markets this week, kept oil in a narrow range, and reassured investors that tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz would keep moving despite the recent exchange of strikes. With the immediate energy-shock fear receding, money rotated back into risk assets.

Japan’s session carried a second storyline in bonds and currencies. The yen firmed and the 10-year Japanese government bond yield pulled back from a three-decade high after Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said Tokyo would explore steps to encourage the country’s giant public pension fund, the GPIF, to hold more domestic assets. Adding to the backdrop, Japan reported that June producer prices rose 7.1% from a year earlier, the fastest pace since 2023 and above forecasts, keeping the Bank of Japan on track toward another rate increase.

Market movers: SoftBank Group was the standout in Tokyo, up nearly 7%, while Kioxia and SK Hynix both gained on the memory-demand story. On the downside, chip-equipment supplier Tokyo Electron slipped, a reminder that the rally is concentrated in memory names rather than the whole sector. On the calls, Goldman Sachs told clients that Nvidia looks compelling at about 21.7 times forward earnings after a product-delay scare faded, and Citigroup kept a $75 base-case forecast for Brent crude in the third quarter, betting on a U.S.-Iran deal and a reopened Hormuz.

Commodities and volatility: Crude held steady in Asian hours, with Brent hovering in the high $70s after this week’s spike, as the absence of fresh escalation calmed nerves. Gold traded near $4,133 an ounce and silver around $59 after a soft stretch earlier in the week, pressured by expectations that the Federal Reserve may keep rates high. Wall Street’s fear gauge, the VIX, closed near 16 on Thursday, well below the level that signals real stress, pointing to a market that is watchful but not panicked.

The near-term test comes when SK Hynix actually begins trading in New York. A strong debut could extend the semiconductor rally across Asia into the back half of the year; a weak one would revive the valuation worries that hammered Seoul just a day earlier. Investors are also looking ahead to the Fed’s rate meeting late this month, where sticky inflation and higher energy costs have put at least one more increase back on the table. For now, with chips leading and the Iran risk fading, Asia is ending its week on the front foot.

JBizNews Desk | New York © JBizNews.com All Rights Reserved. Reproduction or distribution without written permission is prohibited.