BENGALURU: Chip stocks led Taiwan and South Korean equities to record high closing levels on Monday with strong earnings in the United States powering artificial intelligence bets, as investors briefly looked past stalled US-Iran peace talks.
Equity benchmarks in the two East Asian economies were set for their best month in decades, following sharp sell-offs in March, as chip giants see AI-driven demand boosting earnings, despite concerns around inflation and the Strait of Hormuz closure impacting the global economy.
Intel forecast second-quarter revenue above Wall Street expectations last week, driving confidence in South Korea and Taiwan’s recent rallies.
Shares in Taipei rose 1.8 percent to their highest ever close. The benchmark, which houses one of Asia’s two listed companies with a trillion-dollar valuation, TSMC, has advanced 24.9 percent so far in April, on track for its best month since late 2001.
South Korea’s KOSPI also ended at a record closing high with a 2.2 percent gain. Chipmaker SK Hynix surged as much as 7.8 percent to a record during the session, while rival Samsung Electronics closed with a 2.3 percent gain.
The KOSPI index has soared more than 30 percent in April and is on track for its best month since January 1998.
The two tech-heavy equity benchmarks have sharply outperformed emerging-market peers, driving the MSCI EM Asia gauge to a record-high earlier in the session.
The MSCI EM Asia gauge is set to end April 19.7 percent higher - its best month since June 1999.
Stocks in Thailand gained as much as 1.9 percent, set for their best trading session since April 1.
The country’s central bank will hold its policy meeting later this week and is expected to keep interest rates unchanged after a shock 25-basis-point cut at its last meeting in February.
Malaysia stocks rose as much as 0.7 percent to over a one-month high, while Indonesian stocks added 0.7 percent.
Most Asian currencies were stronger. The Malaysian ringgit rose 0.3 percent to break a three-session losing streak, while the Singapore dollar rose 0.1 percent.
The Philippine peso fell slightly to trade near its four-week lows of 60.76 a dollar.
The Indonesian rupiah weakened to 17,230 per dollar, not far from the record low of 17,320 it plumbed last week.