(Bloomberg) — Asian stocks gained as President Donald Trump’s push to boost investment in artificial intelligence improved the outlook for the region’s tech firms.
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Shares in Tokyo rose the most as Trump announced a new investment push for artificial intelligence led by Japan’s Softbank Group Corp., OpenAI LLC, and Oracle Corp. Benchmarks in South Korea and Australia climbed about 0.5%. Contracts for US equities advanced after the S&P 500 closed up 0.9%.
The Asian technology supply chain has already “behaved very, very well,” and the renewed AI push would continue to support these stocks, said Vicki Chi, a money manager for Asian equities at Robeco in Hong Kong on Bloomberg TV . “We’ve seen some developments that’s behind the scenes in terms of using AI to increase productivity on the corporate side, but this year, increasingly we’re going to see consumers feeling the change as AI comes through.”
While expectations that the new US administration will lift restrictions on businesses have supported risk sentiment, a key question on Asian investors’ minds is Trump’s action on Chinese tariffs. Having spared China from his first-day flurry of executive orders, the US president put traders on edge again by saying he is considering a 10% levy on China in retaliation for the flow of fentanyl from the country.
“Risky assets should benefit from deregulation and tariffs emerging as not so bad as feared,” said Mohit Kumar at Jefferies International Ltd. “For rates, less onerous tariffs and likely lower oil prices should be a positive.”
US ten-year Treasury yields advanced two basis points after falling five basis points in the previous session. A Bloomberg gauge of the dollar slipped less than 0.1%.
Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang told the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that his nation will expand its imports “to promote balanced trade.” Meanwhile, President Xi Jinping hailed ties with Russia during a video call with Vladimir Putin as he urged deeper cooperation in response to “external uncertainties.”
Elsewhere in Asia, the Bank of Japan is moving toward deciding to raise interest rates at its policy meeting this week, Kyodo News reported. That supports recent speculation that the bank will hike by 25 basis points. The yen advanced slightly against the dollar.