Asian Stocks Climb, Yen Weakens as AI Rally Extends from Wall Street
Asian equities advanced on Monday, lifted by a rebound in artificial intelligence-related shares that sparked a rally on Wall Street last week. U.S. futures also pointed higher at the start of the new trading week.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped 1.8% to 50,402.39, led by semiconductor and technology firms benefiting from the AI boom. Tokyo Electron surged 6.3%, while Advantest gained 4.5%. Financial and export-oriented stocks also rose, despite the Japanese yen weakening further even after the Bank of Japan raised its policy rate on Friday to its highest level in three decades.
The yen continued to slide, trading near 157.40 per dollar early Monday, prompting warnings from Japanese currency officials against excessive volatility. "Regulators will act to curb any excessive fluctuations," said Atsushi Mimura, a senior finance ministry official overseeing foreign exchange.
Elsewhere in the region, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng edged up 0.1%, and the Shanghai Composite rose 0.7% after China’s central bank left its key loan prime rates unchanged, as expected. South Korea’s Kospi added 2.1%, Taiwan’s Taiex climbed 1.6%, and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.9%.
"Asian equity markets are stepping onto the floor with a constructive bias, taking their cue from Friday's solid rebound in U.S. stocks and the growing belief that the final stretch of the year still belongs to the bulls," said Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management.
On Friday, the S&P 500 rose 0.9%, led by a 3.9% surge in Nvidia and a 3.2% gain in Broadcom. The Nasdaq composite advanced 1.3%. Oracle jumped 6.6% after agreeing to form a U.S. joint venture for TikTok alongside Silver Lake and MGX, each securing a 15% stake.
However, homebuilders declined following data showing a slowdown in home sales, with KB Home falling 8.5%. Consumer sentiment improved marginally in December but remains well below year-ago levels amid persistent inflation, a cooling labor market, and ongoing trade tensions.
Despite a recent rate cut, the Federal Reserve remains cautious as inflation stays above its 2% target. Markets widely expect the central bank to hold rates steady at its January meeting.
In commodities, oil prices rose, with U.S. crude up 1.2% to $57.20 a barrel and Brent climbing to $61.17. The euro held steady against the dollar.
The above content was completed with the assistance of AI and has been reviewed by an editor.
