Asian markets surge as Nvidia results spark AI rally

Asian stock markets experienced a significant rally on Thursday, with Japan and South Korea leading the gains as Nvidia's strong earnings results reignited investor enthusiasm for artificial intelligence. Japan's Nikkei index surged more than 3 percent, while South Korea's Kospi climbed over 8 percent. SoftBank Group emerged as a standout performer, rallying nearly 20 percent thanks to its exposure to the AI boom through its stake in Arm Holdings and investments in OpenAI. South Korean chipmakers also posted impressive gains, with Samsung Electronics advancing more than 6 percent and SK Hynix jumping 11 percent. The market enthusiasm was reinforced by stronger-than-expected trade data from Japan, where exports grew 14.8 percent year-on-year in April, surpassing analyst expectations and marking the largest increase since January. Semiconductor exports alone surged 41.6 percent, with particularly strong demand from China, Taiwan, and the European Union. economists at ING noted that Asian countries involved in the global chip supply chain will continue to benefit from the AI boom, adding that the strong export figures increase the likelihood of a Bank of Japan interest rate hike in June. European markets, by contrast, took a more measured approach, with Spain's Ibex 35 attempting to consolidate around the 18,000-point level after yesterday's 2.16 percent gain. Nvidia's latest results, which once again beat forecasts, were received with relative coolness by investors, with futures showing the chip giant's shares trading slightly lower ahead of the opening. Oil prices stabilized around 105 dollars per barrel after falling 5 percent the previous day, as reports of a potential agreement between the United States and Iran failed to materialize.