Asian tech stocks rally on Wall Street gains, but regional markets mixed

HONG KONG, Oct 27 — Tech firms rallied Tuesday following a healthy run-up on Wall Street as traders welcomed AI titan Anthropic’s IPO filing that revived optimism over the sector after stuttering in the second half of the year.

However, the main gains were concentrated in South Korea and Japan, with other Asian stock markets putting in a mixed performance as traders gear up for a slew of key earnings and central bank decisions this week.

In submitting its plans to list its shares, Anthropic, one of the world’s leading artificial intelligence companies, reported first-half revenue surged about 1,300 per cent year-on-year, but also flagged safety risks.

The sale is seen as a crucial test of whether the AI boom can deliver profits, and a disappointing reception could dent enthusiasm further, with traders already questioning the vast sums invested in the sector as well as several companies’ financial positions.

The filing lays out risks specific to an industry that has faced a string of reports in recent months of AI systems behaving in unexpected and harmful ways.

“If the use of our AI models results in harm, whether through use by malicious actors or misuse by other third parties, or if our model guardrails or safeguards fail to prevent such misuse,” the firm’s business could suffer, it said.

Still, Wall Street-listed tech firms rallied, pulling the Nasdaq and S&P 500 higher along with the Dow.

Seoul briefly jumped more than four per cent, thanks to strong gains in chipmakers SK hynix and Samsung, while Tokyo added around two per cent on the back of spikes in Kioxia, Advantest and SoftBank.

“Sentiment towards technology has improved as investors assess Anthropic’s IPO filing at the start of a week packed with corporate earnings and the Federal Reserve’s rate decision,” wrote Fiona Cincotta at Forex.com

“Anthropic revealed steep losses and impressive revenue growth in its filing… laying out ambitions to build AI systems capable of reshaping the global economy, even at a high cost.

“The listing plan remains in place, even as other firms have stepped back owing to recent market volatility.”

There were also gains in Sydney, Taipei and Manila, but Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, Wellington and Jakarta all retreated.

Investors are now awaiting earnings this week from Magnificent Seven members Microsoft, Alphabet and Amazon as well as SK hynix and Samsung.

The Fed is expected to keep interest rates on hold when it announces its decision on Wednesday, though CME Group’s FedWatch tool says there is a 70 per cent chance of a hike when it meets in December.

Oil prices extended Monday’s drop as senior officials from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan held talks with Iran in an attempt to stop the Middle East war from reigniting, with Tehran saying the discussions were “very good”.

Officials from the three Mecca pact countries flew to Iran as part of efforts to “de-escalate between the parties to the current crisis”, a Saudi foreign ministry statement said.

The talks followed warnings by the United States, Iran and Israel that hostilities could restart in the eight-month war, with some observers suggesting the period between next Tuesday’s US midterm elections and the new Congress taking office was particularly fraught.

Also in view are elections in Israel, where voters will deliver their verdict on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the country’s rightward drift. — AFP.