Asian stocks climb as SK Hynix IPO and chips rally
Asian stock markets climbed on Friday, powered by strong gains in AI and chip companies, even with U.S.-Iran tensions and oil supply worries in the background.
Japan's Nikkei rose 1.8%, while South Korea's KOSPI jumped 2.4%, helped by SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics both rising 3%.
The buzz was fueled by SK Hynix's blockbuster US IPO, which raised $26.5 billion to ramp up AI chip production.
Analysts anticipate broader Korean tech gains
Oil prices are still swinging due to global tensions: Brent crude went up 5% this week but has given up most of the gains it picked up when the conflict began at the end of February.
Analysts think SK Hynix's success could lift other Korean tech giants like Samsung even higher, keeping the positive momentum going for Asian markets despite all the uncertainty.