Asian Equities Mixed as Chip Rally Offsets Oil and Rate Worries

Asian stock markets were mixed on Tuesday, with a fresh surge in South Korean chipmakers boosting regional tech shares, while advances in oil prices, firmer Treasury yields, and rising bets on tighter monetary policy curbed investor appetite.

This followed an uneven session on Wall Street, where the Nasdaq 100 added 0.2% as chipmakers rallied but the broader market stayed under pressure. In Asian trading, Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 0.6% to 29,746.00, and S&P 500 futures ticked up to 7,723.25.

The robust U.S. jobs report is still reshaping expectations for the Federal Reserve, with markets assigning roughly a 60% chance of a quarter-point rate increase at the September 16 meeting. The 10-year Treasury yield hovered near 4.788%, and Friday's inflation data remains the week's main focus.

Oil prices advanced for a third straight session as traders monitored reports of an Iranian agreement with Oman concerning shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Brent crude gained about 0.5% to $97.46 a barrel, after Iran vowed to retaliate against any further strikes on Gulf energy infrastructure.

Korean chip sector rallies as AI optimism broadens

South Korea's KOSPI climbed 2.3%, while Japan's Nikkei 225 was little changed. Hong Kong's Hang Seng slipped 0.5%. The MSCI Asia Pacific index advanced 0.4%, with South Korean semiconductor names providing a significant lift.

South Korea proved the standout among technology markets, with SK Hynix (KS:000660) jumping 5.7% to 1.884 million won and Samsung Electronics (KS:005930) advancing 3.2% to 278,500 won.

Elsewhere, the South Korean economy expanded 0.6% in the second quarter from the prior three months, surpassing forecasts for 0.2% growth, helped by robust semiconductor shipments.

Japan's Kioxia edged up 1.2%, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing added 1%. The wider supply chain, however, was uneven: TDK fell 4.3%, Murata Manufacturing declined 4.6%, LG Innotek shed 4.3%, Largan dropped 4.1%, and Sony lost 2.4%.

Foxconn dipped 1.5% even after offering an optimistic third-quarter forecast and reporting record August revenue earlier this week.

Japan's economy expanded at an annualized rate of 1.4% in the second quarter, revised upward from 1.1%, while real wages climbed 2.4% in July, their biggest gain since May 2021. The figures reinforced market expectations for another Bank of Japan rate hike next week.

Hong Kong technology slides despite China trade data topping forecasts

Technology shares in Hong Kong stayed weak as the broader Hang Seng index declined. Xiaomi tumbled 2.4%, Baidu dropped 1.3%, JD.com slipped 0.4%, and Tencent eased 0.2%, while Meituan advanced 1.9% and NetEase rose 0.6%.

Mainland China's CSI 300 rose 0.06% and the Shanghai Composite added 0.36%. Memory-chip producer Shenzhen Longsys Electronics had a muted market debut, with shares opening flat at HK$236 and then slipping modestly below that level.

The lackluster listing may have reinforced wariness toward Hong Kong's tech sector. Longsys had collected about HK$7.08 billion in its initial public offering.

China's exports increased 25% in August from a year earlier, in line with expectations, while imports surged 28.2%, indicating solid overseas demand even as domestic activity stays soft. The gains were partly fueled by high-tech and AI-linked goods.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.8% after consumer sentiment weakened sharply in September, as higher gasoline prices and concerns about interest rates hurt household confidence.

Singapore's Straits Times Index lost 0.4%, India's Nifty 50 eased 0.4%, and Indonesia's Jakarta Composite advanced 0.7%.

Investors will also monitor earnings from Oracle and Adobe on Thursday for new signals on artificial-intelligence infrastructure investment and the potential disruption AI poses for software companies.