Solid Gold Berjangka – The Nikkei 225 index rose 1.08% to close at 63,954 in Wednesday’s trading session (October 28), marking its second consecutive day of gains. This upward movement followed a rally on Wall Street, where strong performance from several technology companies reignited optimism surrounding the artificial intelligence (AI) sector.
Positive sentiment toward AI was bolstered after Broadcom announced a $63 billion funding arrangement linked to the use of its technology by Anthropic. Oracle also expanded its partnership with OpenAI, while a $25 billion stock offering by Meta reportedly saw demand exceed supply by five times.
In South Korea, SK Hynix reported a sharp increase in revenue and operating profit, driven by robust demand for AI-related products. These results further reinforce expectations that infrastructure spending and the need for semiconductors for artificial intelligence continue to maintain strong momentum.
In Japan, technology and AI-related stocks led the gains. Kioxia surged 13.8%, Ibiden rose 7.9%, Taiyo Yuden climbed 7.1%, SoftBank Group added 4.7%, and Advantest gained 3.2%—reflecting strong investor interest in companies with exposure to the AI theme.
Meanwhile, investors are awaiting policy decisions from the Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank, and the Bank of Japan, all of which are expected to keep interest rates unchanged this week. The market is also closely monitoring the possibility of a rate hike in December, which could be a critical factor for the continued rally in tech stocks and the future trajectory of the Nikkei. (srh)