Asian stocks rise after technology shares advance on Wall Street

     Hong Kong, Nov 10 (AP) Asian stocks advanced Tuesday after US stocks rallied, recovering most of their big losses from last week.

     US futures edged higher, and oil prices fell.

     Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 2.6 per cent to 60,279.37.

     Shares in OpenAI investor SoftBank Group jumped 15 per cent ahead of the company's earnings release later in the day. Its share price had fallen to its lowest level in a year on Monday.

     Computer chip equipment maker Tokyo Electron surged 5.6 per cent, and testing equipment maker Advantest gained 3.4 per cent.

     South Korea's Kospi climbed 4 per cent to 5,219.37. Chipmakers Samsung Electronics gained 4.6 per cent, and SK Hynix climbed 5.6 per cent.

     In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng rose 0.4 per cent to 24,535.74, while the Shanghai Composite index edged 0.4 per cent higher to 3,673.54.

     China's exports in October climbed 35.2 per cent from a year earlier, while imports grew 41.6 per cent, according to customs data released on Tuesday.

     That has put the country on track for another record for the year since the trade surplus for 2026 has already surpassed USD 1 trillion.

     Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.1 per cent to 9,131.70.

     Taiwan's Taiex advanced 3.4 per cent.

     On Monday, the S&P 500 jumped 2.3 per cent for a second straight gain after a wipeout on worries that Democratic victories in the US midterm elections could lead to a slowdown in the construction of AI data centres. The best day for the index since April has it sitting just 3.4 per cent below its all-time high set last month.

     The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 2.2 per cent, and the Nasdaq composite rose 2.7 per cent.

     Stocks were lifted by a decline in the price of Brent crude. It fell after President Donald Trump told CNN over the weekend that a resumption of strikes on Iran is “highly unlikely” if the United States sees progress in negotiations toward ending the war.

     However, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Sunday that Iranian demands had sometimes been “outrageous and ridiculous.”

     Several strong profit reports from big US companies also helped buoy shares.

     Constellation Energy climbed 10.5 per cent after the power company reported both profit and revenue for the summer that topped analysts' expectations.

     Those data centres are coming under increased scrutiny following Democratic victories in last week's election. The worry is that governments could impose restrictions on the industry, which would mean fewer purchases of artificial-intelligence-related products and services around the AI boom.

     That was on top of concerns that new construction of AI data centres may slow because of how expensive it's become to borrow money. Before that, critics were already saying AI stock prices had shot too high and were in a bubble.

     The stock that has become the face of the AI boom, Nvidia, fell 4.3 per cent. The chip company said it's investigating after its CEO, Jensen Huang, acknowledged an intimate relationship with a business executive who, according to The New York Times, US intelligence determined was gathering information for China.

     Nvidia's board said it has “no reason to believe” that either national security or Nvidia secrets were compromised, but its inquiry would examine all available information.

     Guo Jiakun, spokesperson for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, called the allegations “nothing but smears against China.”

     The pullback in Treasury yields over the last month has helped rates for mortgages and other kinds of loans to ease. It also gave a boost to prices for stocks and other investments.

     In other dealings early Tuesday, the price of Brent crude, the international standard, edged 0.9 per cent lower to USD 91.74 a barrel. US benchmark crude oil fell 1 per cent to USD 85.97 per barrel.

     The US dollar rose to 158.06 Japanese yen from 157.90 yen. The euro fell to USD 1.1222 from USD 1.1266. (AP) SKS

SKS

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)