Asian equities advanced Wednesday as chip stocks extended a global rebound, with MSCI’s Asia Pacific Index gaining about 1% on the heels of Tuesday’s strongest rally in a month.  It was a second straight day of gains for the region, with oil moving higher at the same time on renewed escalation in the U.S.-Iran conflict.

South Korea led. The Kospi surged 4.6% to 7,061.36, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.9% to 67,511.12 after government data showed both imports and exports higher than a year earlier — figures inflated in yen terms by the currency’s weakness.  Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.4% to 8,830.60 and the Shanghai Composite gained nearly 0.5% to 3,882.95, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng bucked the trend, dipping 0.7% to 24,947.30.

Samsung and SK Hynix paced the regional advance as selling pressure from leveraged positions continued to unwind, following a more than 5% jump in a U.S. semiconductor index on Tuesday that pulled it out of bear-market territory after the prior week’s selloff.

Market Movers

Japanese chip names joined the run, with Advantest up 2.8% and Tokyo Electron adding 1.8%. Renesas Electronics gained more than 6% and SoftBank Group rose 1.1%.

The rally did not extend to U.S. futures. Nasdaq 100 futures slipped 0.4% and S&P 500 futures edged lower as traders positioned ahead of Alphabet’s results for a fresh read on AI-related spending.

Commodities and Currencies

Brent crude rose 1.4% to $92.25 a barrel during the Asian session after President Trump played down the prospect of near-term peace talks with Iran, and the move pushed U.S. Treasury yields to a two-month high.  Crude kept climbing through the New York session, with Brent ultimately settling at $94.07.

Precious metals also gained, with gold climbing as much as 1.6% to roughly $4,142 an ounce and platinum higher alongside silver. In currencies, the yen stayed under pressure after weakening past 163 per dollar for the first time since 1986, with Japanese officials repeating warnings about the move.  Separately, sources indicated the Bank of Japan is watching upside inflation risks that could bring rate increases faster than markets currently expect.

The split matters for importers: crude above $91 raises the energy bill for Asian economies that buy most of their fuel abroad and can widen trade deficits, even while a softer home currency flatters the local-currency earnings of exporters that sell in dollars.  For tri-state importers sourcing from Asia, the combination points to firmer landed costs into the fall — currency gains on the invoice offset by freight and fuel surcharges on the way over.

JBizNews Desk | New York

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