SoftBank Group shares surged almost 14% on Wednesday as Asian technology stocks tracked a Wall Street rally that pushed major U.S. indexes to fresh records overnight. Chipmakers across Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan posted broad gains, while an analyst cited an overnight jump in Arm Holdings as grounds to expect SoftBank's gains to extend further.
SoftBank Group surged almost 14% on Wednesday, as Asian technology stocks rallied following a strong Wall Street session overnight. The advance came as robust corporate earnings and easing oil prices pushed major U.S. indexes to fresh records.
Chipmakers lead gains across the region
Tokyo Electron closed 3.26% higher. Advantest jumped 8.77%. Kioxia rose 4.24%.
In South Korea, SK Hynix jumped 5.77%. Samsung Electronics gained over 2.5%. Seoul Semiconductor popped 6.73%.
Taiwan's TSMC gained 3.66%. Tech shares across the region have swung sharply in recent sessions, with South Korea's semiconductor-heavy market whipsawing between steep losses and record gains.
Arm Holdings fuels SoftBank's advance
Ortus Advisors strategist Andrew Jackson said in a note Wednesday that the latest rally in U.S. semiconductor stocks reinforced the bullish outlook for Asian AI names, pointing to a surge in chipmakers and infrastructure suppliers overnight. He expects SoftBank to extend its gains further after Arm Holdings, its majority-owned chip design subsidiary, jumped overnight on optimism over higher AI-related data center royalties and development plans for central processing units.
Wall Street sets fresh records
U.S. stocks had a banner day Tuesday, with the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average scaling fresh record highs, driven by strong earnings and another decline in oil prices on hopes that the Strait of Hormuz could reopen. The Nasdaq Composite popped 2.59% to close at 26,584.99. Palantir Technologies rallied over 29%.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC that Washington and Tehran could reach a deal within days to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, easing concerns over global energy supplies.
Source: US Top News and Analysis
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