Kospi Jumps More Than 4%, Nikkei Gains 2.2% on AI Rally

Key Facts

Asian stocks broadly rose Tuesday after AI shares led Wall Street gains in the previous session, as investors awaited major company results and central bank decisions. South Korea’s Kospi jumped more than 4% during the session before standing 3.6% higher at 5,667.99 points by midday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 2.2% to 63,542.77 points. The Associated Press said Asian markets moved higher after a rally led by AI shares in the U.S. Anthropic filed its IPO papers on Monday, but the report does not establish that the move directly caused stocks in Asia to rise.

Gains were concentrated in semiconductor stocks and technology companies linked to AI. SK Hynix, a computer-chip specialist, rose 7%, while Samsung Electronics gained 4.8% in South Korean trading. In Tokyo, shares of test-equipment maker Advantest jumped more than 10%. SoftBank Group, an investor in OpenAI, also rose 7%. The moves formed part of a regional rally following gains in AI shares on Wall Street, as investors awaited major corporate earnings announcements.

The rally extended to other Asian markets, but gains were not broad-based. Taiwan’s Taiex rose 0.5%, and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.3% to 8,838.10 points. By contrast, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.2% to 23,174.44 points after giving up its early gains. The Shanghai Composite slipped 0.1% to 3,692.58 points. Traders were also watching for any major announcements from a closed-door, high-level meeting of China’s Communist Party.

In the U.S., the S&P 500 rose 0.7% in Monday’s session, the Dow Jones gained 0.3%, and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.8%. Nvidia was the biggest contributor to the market’s gains, rising 2.4%. The gains coincided with a busy week for corporate earnings, with about a third of S&P 500 companies scheduled to report quarterly results during the week. Alphabet and Microsoft are due to report Wednesday, followed by Amazon on Thursday. The announcements put technology stocks to a near-term test after gains that fueled the latest rally.

Anthropic filed an S-1 registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for a proposed initial public offering of Class A shares. The company said in its filing that it intends to list the shares on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol "ANT." The company has not yet specified the number of shares to be offered or the price range, and the registration statement has not become effective. Anthropic submitted a confidential draft registration to the agency in June, saying at the time that the proposed offering would depend on market conditions and other factors. The offering could allow Anthropic to enter public markets before OpenAI, while the final valuation, offering price and amount the company will raise remain undecided.

Anthropic’s figures reflect rapid revenue growth alongside substantial losses. Revenue exceeded $16 billion in the first half of 2026, 14 times revenue in the same period a year earlier. But it posted a net loss of $80.7 billion in the first half, including $72.4 billion in one-time accounting charges related to financing agreements. Its loss in the same period a year earlier was $13 billion. Private investors valued the company at $965 billion earlier in the year, while estimates put it at $1.5 trillion or possibly $2 trillion, with no final valuation settled.

Markets are awaiting the Federal Open Market Committee meeting scheduled for October 27 and 28, with the press conference set for October 28. The current target interest-rate range is 3.75% to 4.00%, while the Associated Press reported that broad expectations point to the meeting ending with rates unchanged. In economic data, the Chicago Fed National Activity Index was 0.07 in September, compared with -0.08 in August; the next update is due November 23. The September report on leading economic indicators is due October 28 and includes data on international trade in goods and wholesale and retail inventories. The full September trade report is scheduled for November 4, making corporate results, the Fed decision and upcoming data near-term watchpoints for markets.

Other assets moved in mixed directions Tuesday. The yield on the 2-year U.S. Treasury note rose to 4.71% from 4.69% late Friday, while the 10-year yield fell to 4.98% from 5.00%. Brent crude fell 0.8% to $109.82 a barrel, and the U.S. benchmark crude also dropped 0.8% to $100.93 in early trading. The dollar rose to 157.65 yen from 157.50, while the euro slipped to $1.1173 from $1.1176. The moves showed a contrast between rising Asian stocks and some regional markets, and bonds, currencies and commodities.