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Global Stock Markets Climb as Investors Bet on AI Boom — AI-generated representative image. Global stock markets climbed as investors bet on the artificial intelligence boom, led by tech and chip stocks.

Editorial Team

Nasdaq and Asia Pacific indexes rally on strong chip earnings and AI momentum

Global stock markets climbed this week as investors continued to bet on the technology giants driving the artificial intelligence boom, with US indexes rising on Tuesday and Asia Pacific markets rallying on Wednesday.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite led the advance in the United States, gaining 1.18 percent, while South Korea's KOSPI surged 5.84 percent as of 03:00 GMT after memory chip maker SK Hynix reported blockbuster third-quarter results.

The rally reflects growing confidence in the profitability of massive AI investments, even as analysts debate whether the sector's rapid expansion could be forming a speculative bubble similar to the one that preceded the 2000 dot-com crash.

Investors are closely watching upcoming earnings reports from major technology companies to assess whether their heavy spending on AI infrastructure will translate into sustained returns.

Market Performance Across Regions

All three major US stock indexes rose on Tuesday. The benchmark S&P 500 gained 0.6 percent, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.03 percent. Five of the seven largest technology stocks, known as the "Magnificent Seven," advanced, led by Tesla with a 4.04 percent gain.

Nvidia, the world's most valuable public company, rose almost 1 percent after announcing a $3bn investment in Meta's equity offering. Amazon gained 1.61 percent, while Apple and Alphabet rose 0.93 percent and 0.9 percent respectively. Meta fell 1.64 percent and Microsoft slipped 0.24 percent.

In the Asia Pacific, the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo was up 1.26 percent, the TAIEX in Taipei gained 1.32 percent, and the S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney rose 0.11 percent.

AI Investment and Market Concerns

Technology firms have poured hundreds of billions of dollars each into AI infrastructure, fueling debate over whether valuations have outpaced fundamentals. Global AI investment is forecast to reach $2.7 trillion in 2026 and $3.6 trillion in 2027, according to Gartner, a technology insights company.

The spending surge has drawn comparisons to the late 1990s internet boom, which ended in a sharp market correction. On Monday, AI company Anthropic filed paperwork for its highly anticipated initial public offering, reporting a net loss of $80.7bn in the first half of 2026 on revenue of $16.3bn.

Earnings Reports and Chip Sector Strength

SK Hynix, one of the world's top three memory chip makers, announced third-quarter operating profit of 83.33 trillion won ($62.8bn), an increase of about 630 percent year-on-year. Its shares listed in South Korea surged more than 8 percent following the results.

Among other semiconductor stocks, Advanced Micro Devices gained 5.45 percent, Broadcom rose 4 percent, and Intel advanced 3.61 percent. Oil prices also rose about 1 percent as Asian markets opened on Wednesday, with Brent crude futures standing at about $115 a barrel, up 59 percent from before the US-Israel war on Iran began.

What Lies Ahead

Investors are now focused on the upcoming earnings season for further signals on AI profitability. Microsoft and Alphabet are scheduled to report their latest results on Wednesday, followed by Amazon on Thursday and Apple on Monday.

Oil markets remain elevated amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, including hostilities between Saudi Arabia and Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis.