SEOUL, February 10 (AJP) - AI rally, election boost lift Asian stocks led by Japan
Asian stocks extended gains Tuesday, led by Japan, as investor sentiment improved on a powerful mix of artificial intelligence enthusiasm and political clarity following a landslide election victory for the country’s ruling camp.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed more than 2 percent as uncertainty eased after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s decisive win strengthened confidence in her “Strong Japan” economic agenda. Heavyweight technology and semiconductor stocks, including SoftBank Group and Tokyo Electron, drove the advance.
South Korean shares also opened higher, tracking overnight gains in U.S. AI-related stocks. A rally in artificial intelligence names on Wall Street lifted local chipmakers and tech shares, with SK hynix rising more than 1 percent in early trade. Sentiment was further supported by news of a meeting between SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.
Shares linked to Hyundai Motor Group gained after its robotics unit, Boston Dynamics, released a demonstration video of its humanoid robot “Atlas,” fueling expectations for production innovation and long-term growth in robotics.
Hyundai Motor rose 1.57 percent to 485,000 won, while Hyundai AutoEver jumped 6.71 percent. Hyundai Glovis and Hyundai Mobis gained 0.82 percent and 0.23 percent, respectively.
The benchmark KOSPI added 0.42 percent to 5,320.52, while the tech-heavy KOSDAQ slipped 0.90 percent to 1,117.58 as of 11:10 a.m. in Seoul.
Investor flows were mixed. Individual investors sold a net 561.4 billion won ($385 million), while foreign and institutional investors bought a net 2.87 trillion won and 2.33 trillion won, respectively.
The won consolidated on broad dollar weakness, with the greenback trading 2.20 won lower at 1,457.30.
Among blue chips, Samsung Electronics edged up 0.03 percent to 166,450 won, while LG Energy Solution fell 1.39 percent to 389,000 won.
Financial and biotech shares outperformed. Samsung Life Insurance gained 2.59 percent to 198,000 won, and Samsung Biologics rose 0.35 percent to 1.7 million won.
Defense and aerospace stocks underperformed, with Hanwha Aerospace sliding 6.04 percent to 1,121,000 won.
Shipbuilders also came under pressure. HD Hyundai Heavy Industries fell 2.41 percent to 527,000 won, while Hanwha Ocean declined 1.58 percent to 131,100 won.
Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.88 percent to 27,263.95, and China’s Shanghai Composite edged up 0.04 percent to 4,124.66 in morning trade.
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