Chip Stocks Lift Asian Markets 1.2% on OpenAI’s GPT-6
Semiconductor shares drove Asian markets higher Monday as investors wagered that OpenAI’s newest model would deepen demand for AI computing power, Bloomberg reported. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed 1.2%, led by SK Hynix and Samsung…
ontime team · · Originally published by ontime+
Key Points
- Asian equities rose Monday, with MSCI Asia Pacific up 1.2% led by South Korean chipmakers.
- Investors bet OpenAI's newly announced GPT-6 will drive fresh demand for AI computing capacity.
- Rally shrugged off strong US jobs data that had strengthened bets on a Federal Reserve hike.
The latest:
Semiconductor shares drove Asian markets higher Monday as investors wagered that OpenAI’s newest model would deepen demand for AI computing power, Bloomberg reported. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed 1.2%, led by SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics. The advance followed a 3.4% jump in the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index on Friday, even as most US stocks fell on hawkish jobs data.
Details:
- The move: The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 1.2%, with South Korea’s SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics leading the advance, according to Bloomberg. The gains extended a US session in which the Nasdaq 100 closed Friday up 0.2% while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index surged 3.4%.
- The catalyst: OpenAI announced last week a new generation of its technology named GPT-6, describing it as a major milestone in its decade-long pursuit of artificial general intelligence. Investors read the launch as a signal of heavier compute requirements ahead, lifting chipmakers across the region.
- The disconnect: Most US stocks retreated Friday after strong American jobs data reinforced bets the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates, a reading that would normally weigh on high-valuation technology shares. Asian markets moved the opposite way within one session.
- Analyst view: Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade, said the technology rebound kept traders in buying mode, adding that he was surprised by how quickly Asian markets moved past the negative US jobs data.
- Rate call: Elias Haddad, senior global markets strategist at Brown Brothers Harriman, said the Fed’s September 16 decision hinges on the August US consumer price index due next Friday. A hot reading would all but seal a hike and support the dollar; a softer one could revive the case for holding rates steady.
- Oil: Brent crude also advanced, trading near $97 a barrel after the United States and Iran exchanged fresh strikes on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend.
- China’s injection: Beijing injected 300 billion yuan, or $45 billion, into its largest banks and insurers, the biggest recapitalization of its financial sector in about two decades, aimed at supporting lending as growth slows.
- Supply-chain read: Taiwan’s Hon Hai, Nvidia’s partner in server assembly, reported monthly sales up 52%, driven by demand for AI servers — a hardware datapoint reinforcing the compute-demand thesis behind Monday’s chip rally.
Between the lines:
Two of Monday’s drivers pull in opposite directions. The chip rally rests on expectations of expanding AI compute spending, evidenced by Hon Hai’s 52% sales jump. But Brent near $97 after the Hormuz strikes, combined with strong US jobs data, points toward the inflation reading that Haddad says will decide the Fed’s September call — the same reading that could turn against richly valued technology shares.
What’s next
The August US consumer price index lands Friday and, per Haddad, effectively sets the terms for the Federal Reserve’s September 16 rate decision. Also watch further tanker incidents in the Strait of Hormuz for their effect on Brent.