Nikkei gains on Nvidia lift; KOSPI slips on profit-taking

Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.4% on Friday, led by technology stocks after Nvidia reported results that boosted demand expectations for AI-related hardware. Fujitsu climbed about 4.2% and NEC advanced 3.8% in morning trade.

Nvidia shares jumped 8.7% on Thursday after results exceeded expectations and management signalled continued demand for AI infrastructure. Japanese memory maker Kioxia said it and Sandisk plan to invest more than $31 billion in Japan through 2032 to increase flash-memory capacity for data centres.

In Seoul, the KOSPI fell about 0.8% to roughly 6,857 by late morning. Samsung Electronics slipped about 2% and SK Hynix declined more than 1% as some investors booked profits following recent gains tied to the Nvidia-led rally.

Foreign and retail investors were net sellers in South Korea. The market was trading after the Bank of Korea raised its policy rate by 25 basis points on Thursday to 3%. Samsung Biologics fell after announcing a capital increase of about 3 trillion won to help fund its acquisition of Switzerland’s PolyPeptide Group and additional manufacturing investment.

Elsewhere in the region, Taiwan shares rose about 1.2%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng edged down around 0.3%, and MSCI’s Asia-Pacific index excluding Japan ticked higher. Brent crude traded near $89.60 a barrel and was on track for a weekly decline of more than 5% amid talks involving Iran and Oman over passage through the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. Treasury yields remained elevated, with the 10-year near 4.67% and the 30-year close to 5.2%.

JPMorgan analysts expect Nvidia’s outlook to support upstream suppliers and memory producers across Asia’s semiconductor supply chain. Investors were watching Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh’s Jackson Hole address for signals on interest rates and potential effects on tech-sector valuations.

Han Ji-young of Kiwoom Securities warned, “Investors were likely to remain cautious before Warsh’s address, with monetary-policy uncertainty limiting the KOSPI’s ability to reclaim the 7,000 level.”