By Kwanwoo Jun and Sherry Qin
Asian technology stocks, including artificial-intelligence chip makers, rose on Monday, supported by a continued rally in U.S. tech shares and easing concerns over shipping disruptions in the Middle East.
Stocks on Wall Street extended gains on Friday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq closing at record highs on hopes for a cease-fire in the region.
President Trump said Sunday that the U.S. would begin guiding commercial ships out of the Strait of Hormuz, where vessels have been trapped due to the conflict that began in late February.
Resuming trade after the May Day holiday, most major Asian markets moved higher as investors reacted to improved sentiment over the weekend.
In South Korea, the Kospi closed at an all-time high, rising above 6900 for the first time. The index finished 5.1% higher at 6936.99.
Shares of Nvidia supplier SK Hynix jumped 13%, leading gains among chip makers. The company's market value briefly exceeded 1,000 trillion won, equivalent to roughly $680 billion, for the first time, narrowing the gap with Samsung Electronics, which has a market capitalization of around 1,300 trillion won. Samsung shares rose 5.4%.
SK Hynix and Samsung, which together make up more than 40% of the Kospi, reported record first-quarter earnings last month, driven by strong memory demand for AI chips.
In Taiwan, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. rose 6.6%, its largest daily gain in more than a year, lifting the Taiex by 4.6%.
In Hong Kong, tech shares also advanced. Alibaba rose 5.6%, Baidu gained 4.3% and AI developer MinMax climbed 12%.
"The U.S. tech rally is likely the bigger driver behind today's Asian tech surge, while Trump's Hormuz plan helped remove one of the main macro overhangs," said Saxo Markets chief investment strategist Charu Chanana.
"Investors were also using the holiday catch-up to re-enter the AI trade, especially in the Asian hardware backbone - memory, foundry, advanced chips and China AI platforms."
Markets in South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong were closed Friday and did not fully reflect the U.S. rally.
Chanana, cautioned that risks remain due to the situation in the Middle East.
"This rally is still vulnerable if oil stays elevated," she said. Strong demand can support earnings momentum, "but higher energy prices keep inflation and discount-rate risks alive," she added. "While this is a powerful fundamentals-driven rally, there is still not yet proof that investors can fully move past the geopolitics."
Trump's latest initiative, known as "Project Freedom," is a coordination effort involving governments, insurers and shipping groups to help vessels pass through the Strait. It doesn't currently include U.S. Navy escorts, according to senior U.S. officials.
Write to Kwanwoo Jun at kwanwoo.jun@wsj.com and Sherry Qin at sherry.qin@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 04, 2026 02:53 ET (06:53 GMT)
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