Asian Chip Stocks Climb Following Nvidia's Market Milestone
Asian semiconductor stocks rallied sharply after Nvidia reclaimed its spot as the world's most valuable company, fueling a wave of optimism across the region’s tech sector.
South Korean and Taiwanese Suppliers Gain Momentum
Shares of South Korea’s SK Hynix, a key memory chip supplier to Nvidia, surged by 3.53%. Meanwhile, TSMC, the Taiwanese semiconductor foundry that manufactures Nvidia’s cutting-edge graphics processing units (GPUs) used in powering large language models, also saw gains, albeit more modest at 0.47%.
Foxconn, another major Taiwanese player closely tied to Nvidia through strategic partnerships integrating Nvidia chips into a wide range of applications, rose by 0.77%.
Japanese Chipmakers Join the Uptrend
Japan's semiconductor market also experienced notable growth. Testing equipment supplier Advantest hit a record high with a 3.93% increase in shares. Major conglomerate SoftBank, which owns a stake in the British chip designer Arm, jumped by 4.38%.
- Renesas Electronics and Tokyo Electron climbed by 2.13% and 1.57%, respectively.
- Sumco also gained 2.22%.
According to Kingsley Jones, founding partner and CIO of Jevons Global, the uplift in Asian chip stocks highlights growing confidence in the expanding demand for artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. He noted, "Tariff concerns appear to have eased, putting Japanese, South Korean, and Taiwanese semiconductor stocks back in favor. Nvidia’s surge is clearly the driving force behind this positive sentiment."
Nvidia’s Market Dominance Strengthens Despite Challenges
On the US stock market, Nvidia’s shares rose over 4%, closing at an impressive all-time high of $154.31. This surpassed its previous record of $149.43 set in early January. With a staggering market capitalization of $3.77 trillion, Nvidia has overtaken Microsoft to claim the title of the world’s most valuable company.
This rally underscores investor confidence in Nvidia’s commanding position within the AI landscape, even amid ongoing export restrictions targeting sales to China.
Earlier this year, new regulations prevented Nvidia from selling its advanced H20 AI chip within the Chinese market. This has led to an estimated $8 billion in lost sales and a $4.5 billion inventory write-down, highlighting the tangible impact of these trade restrictions on the company’s growth projections.
What This Means for the Semiconductor Industry
The resurgence of Asian chip stocks, buoyed by Nvidia’s performance, signals renewed investor belief in the sector’s long-term prospects. Continued innovation in AI and chip technology appears poised to drive robust demand, helping companies across South Korea, Taiwan, and Japan capture greater market share.
As tariff fears decline and strategic partnerships deepen, this rally could be a bellwether for further gains throughout the semiconductor ecosystem.
