Asian stocks showed a mixed performance but generally bounced back after a two-day decline, primarily boosted by a rally in chipmakers. MSCI’s gauge of Asia Pacific stocks, however, still dropped 0.7%, with eight of its eleven industry groups posting losses. South Korea's Kospi experienced significant volatility; after a 5% surge on Friday (July 31), it fell 1.1% on the current day, following an earlier gain of 2.1%. Over the past few days, the Kospi has seen sharp swings, including a 5.1% drop and a 17.9% soar, due to the influence of AI-centric companies like Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. On the preceding day, the Kospi closed up 1.62% at 6,358.95, partly driven by news of NVIDIA's investment in NAVER's AI factory project.
Key market movements across Asia included Japan’s Topix falling 0.3%, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rising 1.3%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng falling 0.5%, and the Shanghai Composite rising 0.2%. The yen steadied after intervention-led gains, though it later slipped. Wall Street remained more positive, with S&P futures rising 0.2% and Nasdaq 100 futures rising 0.4%. Palantir Technologies surged 14% in extended trading after raising its forecasts, while Amazon saw a drop.
The previous day saw a significant rally in US stocks, with the S&P 500 up 136.02 points to 7,736.52, the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumping 907.47 points to 54,085.88, and the Nasdaq composite climbing 671.10 points to 26,584.99. Chip companies like Nvidia (up 2.6%), Broadcom (up 6.6%), and Micron Technology (up 7.6%) were strong performers. Investors are cautious, with another potential challenge arising when SpaceX reports its first earnings as a public company on Tuesday.
