SK Hynix, Samsung gain as Asian stocks climb after tech powers Wall Street

Published Tue, Sep 22, 2026 · 10:28 AM

ASIAN stocks rose in early trading as the region’s heavyweight technology shares tracked US peers higher on optimism around Meta Platforms’ new artificial intelligence agent.

MSCI’s gauge of Asian shares climbed 0.5 per cent, with memory chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix the top contributors to gains.

South Korea’s benchmark Kospi Index jumped more than 2 per cent. Contracts for US benchmarks edged higher after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 posted their best days since early August.

Among the main moves in markets, S&P 500 futures were little changed as at 9.11 am Tokyo time. Hang Seng futures rose 0.3 per cent, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.5 per cent and Euro Stoxx 50 futures rose 1.4 per cent.

An index of US semiconductor stocks rallied over 4 per cent on Monday (Sep 21) as early signs of success for Meta’s AI agent revived enthusiasm for the sector.

Meta surged 11 per cent, Advanced Micro Devices topped US$1 trillion in market value and the Nasdaq 100 jumped 2.8 per cent.

Brent oil was steady around US$100 a barrel after closing 3.4 per cent lower on Monday as Middle East supply concerns eased and traders tracked an apparent uptick in efforts to end the US-Iran war.

“The most meaningful catalyst appears to be the release of Meta’s new AI chatbot, which has been met with strong demand and resurfaced optimism about the growth outlook for the so-called AI trade,” said Kyle Rodda, a senior analyst at Capital.com.

“Signs of strong AI demand should improve sentiment throughout the AI ecosystem, especially chips, which ought to filter through to pockets of the Asian tech sector.”

Investors are also gearing up for this week’s summit between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, with officials offering upbeat assessments ahead of talks expected to cover AI, trade and investment.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent described weekend meetings with China’s top trade negotiator Li Chenggang as “very successful”.

“All eyes will be on the Trump-Xi meeting in Washington on Thursday, with trade, AI and geopolitics seen dominating the agenda,” Roman Ziruk, lead FX strategist at Ebury, wrote in a note.

“Given increasing geopolitical uncertainty worldwide, keeping the world’s two dominant economies on speaking terms has rarely mattered more.”

Developments in the Middle East remained firmly in focus as traders assessed whether diplomacy and increased Saudi exports could extend oil’s retreat.

Satellite data showed Saudi Arabia’s observed oil loadings from inside the Persian Gulf jumped over the weekend, with the highest number of ships seen at the nation’s main Persian Gulf port since June.

Trump told Fox News he would “probably” be open to meeting his Iranian counterpart, Masoud Pezeshkian, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York this week.

His administration has also proposed investing US$5 billion in a new fund to help Middle East countries rebuild energy infrastructure damaged in the Iran war, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Meanwhile, US Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago president Austan Goolsbee warned that the central bank cannot ignore repeated and persistent supply shocks and may need to respond even at the cost of economic hardship.

“Supply shocks have come more frequently, hit harder and lasted longer,” Goolsbee said on Monday at an event in London. “And once supply shocks to inflation become persistent, some of the logic behind ‘looking through’ no longer holds.” BLOOMBERG