Asian chip stocks rebound ahead of Nvidia earnings as AI trade faces key test

Asian chip stocks rebounded across Asia on Wednesday as investors positioned for Nvidia's earnings, with South Korea's KOSPI rising 1.8% and Japan's Nikkei gaining 0.9% as AI trade faces a key test as Nvidia's results will be crucial for the sector's momentum. The recovery follows a sharp selloff last week as Treasury yields pressured high-valued tech stocks, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index falling sharply and Nvidia entering its longest losing streak since 2022, with Wall Street expects $92 billion in revenue and $2.09 adjusted earnings per share. South Korean memory stocks like SK Hynix rising 1.8% and Samsung Electronics gaining 1.8% as key high-bandwidth memory suppliers to AI data centers, while Chinese tech stocks showed stronger breadth with SMIC jumping 3.5% and Xiaomi rising 4.3% with AI names like Cambricon and NAURA also advanced with the broader AI trade facing a crucial test.