Asia markets open: Nikkei jumps 1.45% on AI rally; Sensex opens flat

Asia-Pacific markets broadly advanced on Thursday, with Japanese stocks leading the charge as a strong earnings report from US chipmaker AMD reignited investor enthusiasm for artificial intelligence-related companies.

The positive sentiment tracked a rally on Wall Street, where tech stocks recovered from a recent sell-off. However, the gains were not universal across Asia, with a mixed performance in Greater China and a flat open for Indian equities.

The rally in AI-linked stocks was most pronounced in Japan, where the benchmark Nikkei 225 index climbed 1.45% and the broader Topix index added 1.11%.

Companies with exposure to the semiconductor industry saw significant gains. Advantest, which supplies testing equipment to Nvidia, rose 3.73%, while chip equipment maker Disco Corp added 4.59%.

In South Korea, shares of Nvidia-supplier SK Hynix were up 3.11%, though the benchmark Kospi index pared its early gains to trade near the flatline after a recent winning streak.

A muted debut for autonomous vehicle IPOs in Hong Kong

While AI hardware stocks rallied, the mood was more subdued for companies in the autonomous vehicle space.

In their Hong Kong market debut, shares of Chinese self-driving firms WeRide and Pony.ai fell sharply by over 12% and nearly 8%, respectively.

The disappointing start for the two US-listed companies came despite significant fundraising. Pony.ai raised approximately $860 million in its IPO, while WeRide raised about $310 million.

The broader market in the region was mixed, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rising 0.72% while mainland China’s CSI 300 was flat.

Indian markets open flat as rupee strengthens

Indian equity markets began the day on a muted note.

The BSE Sensex started the session with a fractional gain of 0.07% at 83,516.69, while the NSE Nifty50 opened with a marginal loss of 0.02% at 25,593.35.

In the currency market, the Indian rupee opened 14 paise stronger against the US dollar, starting the day at 88.52 compared to the previous close of 88.66.

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