Asian stocks rally as tech rebound lifts markets before earnings
Asian stocks rallied Wednesday as tech firms rebounded ahead of key earnings, with Seoul's Kospi jumping 4.4 percent and Tokyo's Nikkei rising 1.2 percent on upbeat results from chipmakers and AI-related companies. SK hynix and Samsung surged at least seven percent in South Korea, while Kioxia, Advantest, and SoftBank gained two to four percent in Japan. SpaceX reported a $4.4 billion quarterly net profit, more than double expectations, and Super Micro Computer beat earnings forecasts, soothing AI profitability concerns. Elon Musk proposed merging SpaceX and Tesla, which would be the largest tie-up ever. Oil prices rose over one percent after a tanker off Qatar reported being struck by projectiles, while Chinese battery giant CATL fell 10 percent on missed profit estimates.