China Tech Leads Stocks Higher – Asia Market Wrap
Asian stocks trimmed their losses after technology shares in China rallied with Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. vowing to increase investments in artificial intelligence.
Chinese semiconductor stocks joined the rally after Morgan Stanley upgraded its view on the sector and Huawei Technologies Co. unveiled plans to overtake Nvidia Corp. in AI chips. Alibaba jumped as much as 7.2% in Hong Kong, where trading volumes were subdued as the city was slammed by Super Typhoon Ragasa. MSCI’s gauge of Asian shares was down 0.1%, off session lows.
Stock-index futures showed a weaker open for Europe while contracts for the US edged up 0.1%. Oil rose as President Donald Trump ramped up his rhetoric against Russia. Treasuries held their gains as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned of persistent risks in the labor market and inflation, while reiterating policymakers faced a difficult path in weighing further easing.
Global stocks have rallied this year as worries over Trump’s tariff war faded and investors speculate on further Fed rate cuts. Technology shares have fueled much of the rebound in equities from their April lows, as optimism over artificial intelligence and demand for AI-linked companies offset worries about slowing growth and higher rates.
Alibaba’s shares surged to their highest in almost four years after it announced plans to ramp up spending on AI infrastructure to better compete with US rivals.
The company sees global investment in AI accelerating rapidly. Chief Executive Officer Eddie Wu said. To keep up, Alibaba will soon add to its February plan to spend more than 380 billion yuan ($53 billion) on developing AI models and infrastructure over three years.
In geopolitical news. Trump struck a more sympathetic tone on Ukraine’s chances of winning the war and said NATO nations should shoot down Russian aircraft that violated their airspace. Asian defense stocks such as Hanwha Aerospace Co. rose.
Oil extended its gains on mounting risks to Russian supply, including strikes by Ukraine on energy infrastructure and heightened tensions with NATO. Brent rose toward $68 a barrel after gaining 1.6% on Tuesday. Russia also mulled restrictions on diesel exports for some companies.
