Asian Stocks Rise as US Inflation, Tech Spur Gains: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) — Asian stocks climbed as further evidence of moderating US inflation reinforced bets that the Federal Reserve will refrain from raising interest rates next month. Technology stocks rallied.

MSCI’s Asia Pacific equities gauge rose 0.5%, putting the benchmark on course for a fourth consecutive weekly advance — its longest winning streak since May. South Korea’s Kospi Index, a bellwether for the artificial intelligence trade, led the region with a 1% gain. Samsung Electronics Co. and SK Hynix Inc. took their advances for the week to around 15%.

The Asian moves came as investors redoubled their bets on the AI trade after last month’s selloff, sending MSCI’s All Country World Index to a record high. On Thursday, the S&P 500 rose 0.7% to an all-time high, while the Nasdaq 100 climbed more than 1% to its highest level since late June.

Elsewhere, Treasuries held Thursday’s advance after US wholesale inflation cooled in July. The yield on the rate-sensitive two-year note was little changed at 4.15%, after falling six basis points in the prior session. Money markets now price in less than a 40% chance of a Fed rate increase in September.

Back-to-back benign inflation prints, following last week’s softer-than-expected jobs report and a pullback in oil prices, are easing pressure on the Fed to tighten policy at its meeting next month. While the lack of a deal in the Middle East remains a concern, equity traders are also focusing on a revival in the AI trade after a selloff in semiconductor stocks in July.

“The next round of data that we get in September and the lead up to the meeting will be pretty critical,” said BofA Securities economist Stephen Juneau. At the same time, “the market obviously has started to really discount hikes more and more given that the data in recent months has been more dovish.”

US wholesale inflation decelerated by more than forecast in July. The producer price index rose 4.7% from a year earlier, down from a 5.5% annual increase in June, and was unchanged from the previous month.

In other corners of the market, Brent was little changed around $87.10 a barrel early Friday after dropping more than 2% in the previous session, snapping a six-day rally. Gold was a touch lower at about $4,330 an ounce.

A Bloomberg gauge of Asian chip-related stocks rallied over 1%, a fifth consecutive day of gains.

“A huge amount of hyperscaler money is flowing into hardware,” said Hitoshi Asaoka, chief strategist at Asset Management One. “That is translating into extremely strong sales and profit growth for hardware companies. Investors are returning to the idea of, ‘let’s look at the earnings themselves again’”

Even as Treasuries rallied Thursday, the US sold 30-year bonds at the highest yield in a quarter century, underscoring the premium investors are demanding to finance the nation’s deficits.

Long-term yields have surged above 5% this year as higher energy prices fueled concern that inflation would remain elevated and force the Fed to keep rates higher for longer. Those pressures have been compounded by heavy Treasury issuance after years of fiscal deficits and a wave of corporate borrowing to finance the artificial-intelligence boom.

Meanwhile, Fed officials remain divided over the path for rates.

Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin argued for holding steady as inflation eases, while Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack reiterated her preference for a hike.

Elsewhere, the Trump administration is applying a 100% tariff on imports of unmanned aircraft systems and their components in a bid to cut the US’s reliance on foreign supplies of drones.

In Asia, the yen remained within striking distance of a key level against the dollar, even after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s government was said to support an interest-rate increase. The Japanese currency was slightly stronger early Friday, trading near 159.35 per dollar.

The Bank of Japan is likely to raise rates in either September or October, according to people familiar with the matter. Concerns at the central bank that yen weakness will fuel inflation are converging with the government’s desire to reinforce the impact of recent US-Japan currency intervention, strengthening the case for a near-term hike, the people said.

Corporate Highlights:

OpenAI is on track to generate annualized revenue of more than $40 billion based on its current performance, according to people familiar with the matter, roughly doubling its run rate from the end of 2025 and bolstering the company’s plans for a Wall Street debut. Applied Materials Inc. delivered an estimate-beating forecast that still got a lukewarm reaction from investors, a sign of the lofty hopes surrounding a company that’s key to the AI boom. Advanced Micro Devices Inc. raised $4.75 billion in its biggest-ever US dollar bond offering, adding to a wave of debt tied to the AI boom. JD.com Inc. posted its first quarterly revenue decline since listing in 2014, in the latest sign of waning Chinese consumer sentiment. Some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

S&P 500 futures were little changed as of 10 a.m. Tokyo time Hang Seng futures fell 0.6% Japan’s Topix rose 0.9% Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.8% Euro Stoxx 50 futures rose 0.3% Currencies

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed The euro was little changed at $1.1538 The Japanese yen was little changed at 159.36 per dollar The offshore yuan was little changed at 6.7451 per dollar The Australian dollar was little changed at $0.7061 Cryptocurrencies

Bitcoin rose 0.2% to $63,471.18 Ether rose 0.1% to $1,886.84 Bonds

The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 4.64% Japan’s 10-year yield declined 1.5 basis points to 2.850% Australia’s 10-year yield declined one basis point to 4.98% Commodities

West Texas Intermediate crude was little changed Spot gold fell 0.2% to $4,340.18 an ounce This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.

–With assistance from Aya Wagatsuma.

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.