Tech Rally Deepens on Hynix Earnings, Oil Climbs: Markets Wrap
(Bloomberg) — South Korean stocks led a third day of gains in global technology shares after blowout results from chip heavyweight SK Hynix Inc. prompted investors to charge back into the artificial intelligence trade. Crude oil rose.
The Kospi Index — a barometer for the AI trade — climbed 6.6% and headed for its biggest rally in three months. That was led by a 10% jump in SK Hynix after the chipmaker unveiled plans to return about $45 billion more to shareholders as profit surged sevenfold. Samsung Electronics Co. advanced 9.5% and Kioxia Holdings Corp. surged 16%. The broader MSCI Asia Pacific equities index added 1.3%.
In India, Jio Platforms Ltd. shares surged 21% in its trading debut on Wednesday after billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s telecom giant raised a $3.1 billion in India’s biggest initial public offering.
Nasdaq 100 Index futures gained 0.4%, extending momentum from Tuesday’s chip-led rally on Wall Street. Attention now turns to results from Alphabet Inc. and Microsoft Corp. later Wednesday, followed by Amazon.com Inc. the next day.
Elsewhere, Brent snapped a two-day losing streak after the Wall Street Journal reported that the US told several Gulf countries to be prepared for a short, intense military campaign after the midterm elections. The report cited people briefed on the conversations. The global oil benchmark advanced 1.4% to trade around $115.40 a barrel.
Confidence in the AI trade has recovered after a recent rout in chip stocks, with megacap tech earnings in the next few days set to test whether the rebound has staying power. The Federal Reserve’s policy decision Wednesday will also be watched for clues on the policy outlook as elevated bond yields and persistent inflation complicate the case for lower borrowing costs.
“A wave of AI news sparked a relief rally after three weeks of pressure on the group,” Michael O’Rourke, chief market strategist at JonesTrading Institutional Services LLC, wrote in a note. That news has “offered solace to investors that the large-scale AI firms can, and are proceeding to spend even if smaller firms are under pressure.”
Technology shares have rallied this week after Anthropic’s S-1 filing — to list on the Nasdaq under ticker ANT — and a host of fundraising plans rekindled optimism. Meta Platforms Inc.’s upsized $25 billion share sale attracted demand for about five times the available shares, according to people familiar with the offering, as the company seeks to raise $98 billion for its AI spending.
In geopolitical news, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot were neck and neck in the first election since the 2023 Hamas attacks, setting up a tense period of negotiations over who will form the next government.
Elsewhere, a Bloomberg gauge of the dollar’s strength edged higher for a fourth consecutive day. Gold slipped 0.3% to about $4,045 an ounce.
The New Zealand dollar slumped almost 2% against the Aussie — the most since 2017 — after the country’s central bank surprisingly left rates unchanged.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury was up two basis points to 5.02% as traders awaited the Fed announcement.
The Fed is expected to keep rates steady, even after inflation data for September came in hotter than expected. Wednesday’s Fed rate decision is set to be followed by policy announcements from the European Central Bank and Bank of Japan later this week.
If the Fed does stay put, Chairman Kevin Warsh could face pressure to explain policymakers’ rationale for not acting now after they voted unanimously last month to raise rates to address burgeoning inflation.
Projections released last month signaled Fed officials supported one additional hike this year, a forecast Warsh is likely to be asked about when he speaks to reporters after the meeting. Investors on Tuesday saw less than a 10% chance of a quarter-point move this week, but priced in a hike at the final policy meeting of the year in December.
“The language from the FOMC will remain hawkish and vigilant on inflation,” said Damien McColough, head of fixed income research at Westpac Banking Corp. “That, including any refocusing of the markets attention on the price of oil, should provide a bearish impetus.”
Corporate Highlights:
Suzhou Dongshan Precision Manufacturing Co. shares slumped on their first day of trading in Hong Kong after the company raised HK$9.9 billion ($1.3 billion). Anthropic PBC has tapped JPMorgan Chase & Co. to lead US sales of shares to individual investors in its potentially record-setting initial public offering, people familiar with the matter said. OpenAI intends to buy artificial intelligence computing chips from Alphabet Inc.’s Google, according to a person familiar with the matter, part of broader efforts by the ChatGPT maker to build out its AI infrastructure. Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
S&P 500 futures were little changed as of 1:18 p.m. Tokyo time Japan’s Topix rose 0.1% Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was little changed Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.4% The Shanghai Composite rose 0.7% Euro Stoxx 50 futures fell 0.2% Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.1% The euro was little changed at $1.1121 The Japanese yen was little changed at 157.96 per dollar The offshore yuan was little changed at 6.6664 per dollar Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin rose 0.2% to $80,870.84 Ether rose 0.5% to $2,352.75 Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced two basis points to 5.02% Japan’s 10-year yield advanced three basis points to 2.825% Australia’s 10-year yield advanced five basis points to 5.20% Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.5% to $101.35 a barrel Spot gold fell 0.4% to $4,042.48 an ounce This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from David Finnerty.
©2026 Bloomberg L.P.
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