Asian chipmaking stocks surged on Thursday, following a strong rally in Nvidia shares after CEO Jensen Huang made optimistic remarks about artificial intelligence (AI) demand. Nvidia suppliers such as TSMC, SK Hynix, Hon Hai Precision Industry (Foxconn), and Advantest Corp saw gains between 4% and 8%.
Broader chipmakers also benefited, with Japan’s Tokyo Electron and Renesas Electronics up 3.3% and 1.5%, respectively. SoftBank Group, exposed to chipmaking through its Arm subsidiary, added 7.4%. Samsung Electronics rose 1.4%, amid reports of potential global job cuts.
Nvidia’s 8.1% rally on Wednesday, its best day in over six weeks, was driven by strong AI chip demand and CEO Huang’s comments on the upcoming Blackwell chip line and potential supply shortages. Nvidia stock remains up 150% in 2024, largely due to AI-driven demand, despite earlier volatility.
