Asian Shares Rise As Chip Shares Climb On Lower Yields

Asian stocks advanced on Thursday as calmer bond markets and robust U.S. corporate earnings lifted chip stocks.

Treasury yields fell after Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee said on Wednesday the central bank should be wary of waiting too long before it cuts interest rates.

The U.S. dollar eased ahead of key U.S. economic data releases due later in the day and gold steadied near two-month lows, while oil extended overnight losses after a larger-than-expected jump in U.S. crude inventories.

Chinese markets remained closed for the Lunar New Year holiday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.4 percent to 15,944.63.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index breached a new 34-year peak before closing up 1.2 percent at 38,157.94. The broader Topix Index settled 0.3 percent higher at 2,591.85.

Chip-related shares surged, with Advantest, Screen Holdings and Tokyo Electron climbing 2-6 percent. Brewer Kirin Holdings plunged 4.6 percent after announcing its full-year results.

The yen held near the psychologically important 150 per dollar level as data showed Japanese GDP shrank for the second quarter in a row in the October-December 2023 period, raising doubts about the Bank of Japan’s plans to exit its ultra-easy policy this year.

Seoul stocks edged lower, with the Kospi closing down 0.3 percent at 2,613.80.

Australian markets rose notably after employment numbers came in surprisingly weak in January, reigniting hopes of early rate cuts by the Reserve Bank of Australia.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index jumped 0.8 percent to 7,605.70, led by banks and information technology firms.

Wesfarmers soared 5 percent after posting a better-than-expected half-year profit. Origin Energy rallied 2.5 percent after posting a 17-fold jump half-year profit.

Mining heavyweight BHP dropped 1.7 percent as it flagged another $3.2 billion impairment in relation to its Brazilian Samarco dam failure and a $2.5 billion impairment charge for its Western Australia Nickel business.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 Index slipped 0.2 percent to 11,640.04.

U.S. stocks rose sharply overnight after having suffered heavy losses in the previous session on concerns over elevated inflation and interest rates staying higher for longer.

A calmer bond market amid little economic news helped lift the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite up 1.3 percent, while the S&P 500 climbed 1 percent and the Dow edged up 0.4 percent.

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