28/10/2026 03:09 AST
Asian tech stocks rallied on Tuesday, following gains on Wall Street, as traders welcomed artificial intelligence firm Anthropic's filing for an initial public offering (IPO), which revived optimism about a sector that has stuttered in the second half of the year. The main gains were concentrated in South Korea and Japan, while other Asian markets were mixed ahead of a week of key earnings and central bank decisions.
In its filing, Anthropic, one of the world's leading AI companies, reported that first-half revenue rose about 1,300 percent year-on-year, but also flagged safety risks. The listing is seen as a crucial test of whether the AI boom can deliver profits, and a disappointing reception could further dent enthusiasm at a time when traders are already questioning the vast sums invested in the sector and the finances of several companies.
The filing sets out risks specific to an industry that has faced a string of reports in recent months of AI systems behaving in unexpected and harmful ways. "If the use of our AI models results in harm, whether through use by malicious actors or misuse by other third parties, or if our model guardrails or safeguards fail to prevent such misuse," its business could suffer, the company said.
Tech firms rallied on Wall Street, pulling the Nasdaq, S&P 500 and Dow higher. Seoul briefly jumped more than 4 percent on strong gains in chipmakers SK hynix and Samsung, while Tokyo added around 2 percent on gains in Kioxia, Advantest and SoftBank. Sydney, Taipei and Manila also rose, but Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, Wellington and Jakarta fell.
"Anthropic revealed steep losses and impressive revenue growth in its filing... laying out ambitions to build AI systems capable of reshaping the global economy, even at a high cost," wrote Fiona Cincotta of FOREX.com. "The listing plan remains in place, even as other firms have stepped back owing to recent market volatility."
Investors are awaiting earnings this week from Microsoft, Alphabet and Amazon, as well as SK hynix and Samsung. The Federal Reserve is expected to hold interest rates on Wednesday, though CME Group's FedWatch tool shows a 70 percent chance of a hike in December.
Oil prices extended Monday's drop as senior officials from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan, members of the Makkah defense pact, held talks with Iran aimed at preventing the Middle East war from reigniting. Tehran described the discussions as "very good". The talks followed warnings by the United States, Iran and Israel that hostilities could resume in the eight-month war. Investors are also watching elections in Israel, where voters will deliver their verdict on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Key figures at around 0230 GMT:
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.9 percent at 63,381.29 (break) Seoul - Kospi: UP 4.0 percent at 5,687.91 Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.3 percent at 23,134.76 Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.2 percent at 3,690.56 West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.9 percent at $100.86 per barrel Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 1.0 percent at $114.68 per barrel Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1172 from $1.1182 on Monday Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3344 from $1.3349 Dollar/yen: UP at 157.61 yen from 157.45 yen Euro/pound: DOWN at 83.73 pence from 83.78 pence New York - Dow: UP 0.3 percent at 52,361.58 (close) London - FTSE 100: UP 0.7 percent at 10,767.33 (close)
AFP
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