SEOUL, March 17 (AJP) — Asian stock markets traded higher Tuesday as easing oil prices and renewed optimism over AI-driven semiconductor demand boosted investor sentiment across the region.
All members of the “Magnificent Seven” closed higher overnight. Nvidia rose 1.65 percent, Tesla gained 1.11 percent, Amazon advanced 1.96 percent, Meta Platforms climbed 2.33 percent, Alphabet added 1.09 percent, Microsoft rose 1.11 percent and Apple edged up 1.08 percent.
Sentiment was buoyed after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang projected that demand for its Blackwell and Vera Rubin AI platforms could reach as much as $1 trillion by 2027, reinforcing expectations for sustained semiconductor demand driven by artificial intelligence.
The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rose 1.96 percent, while Micron Technology gained 3.68 percent after announcing plans to build a second semiconductor fabrication facility in Taiwan.
Nvidia’s key memory partners also shared the momentum. SK hynix rose 2.26 percent to 996,000 won, approaching the 1 million won mark and the highest level in 11 sessions, while Samsung Electronics gained 3.90 percent to 196,050 won, nearing the 200,000 won level.
Also riding the Nvidia wave, Hyundai Motor and Kia said they will expand cooperation with Nvidia in autonomous driving and software-defined vehicles. The companies plan to apply Level 2+ autonomous driving technologies to selected models and aim to extend collaboration toward Level 4 robotaxis. The partnership is also expected to strengthen AI integration, with the group building an end-to-end data and learning system to enhance its autonomous driving capabilities.
Reflecting the optimism, Hyundai Motor rose 4.55 percent to 529,000 won and Kia gained 3.58 percent to 167,800 won in morning trading.
As of 10:51 a.m., the benchmark KOSPI rose 2.49 percent to 5,688.22, while the tech-heavy KOSDAQ gained 1.07 percent to 1,150.49.
Institutions were net buyers, purchasing 180.5 billion won ($135 million), while individuals and foreign investors were net sellers, offloading 109.0 billion won and 58.6 billion won, respectively.
Among other heavyweights, SK Square surged 6.05 percent to 596,000 won, HD Hyundai Electric rose 3.87 percent to 940,000 won and Hyundai Mobis gained 3.24 percent to 414,000 won.
Internet and biotech stocks also moved higher, with Naver advancing 2.29 percent to 223,000 won, Celltrion climbing 2.75 percent to 205,500 won and Samsung Biologics adding 1.21 percent to 1,587,000 won.
Financial shares posted modest gains, with KB Financial rising 0.94 percent to 150,700 won, Shinhan Financial gaining 0.78 percent to 90,700 won and Samsung Life Insurance up 1.65 percent to 215,500 won.
Meanwhile, a few stocks bucked the broader trend. Hanwha Aerospace fell 5.42 percent to 1,396,000 won and Mirae Asset Securities slipped 1.41 percent to 69,900 won.
The Korean won strengthened to 1,493.20 per dollar from the previous close of 1,497.6 as oil prices eased.
Elsewhere in Asia, Japanese equities opened higher with the Nikkei 225 rising 0.21 percent to 53,862.79. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.79 percent to 26,038.31, China’s Shanghai Composite Index edged up 0.09 percent to 4,088.46 and Taiwan’s TAIEX advanced 1.66 percent to 33,897.30.
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