Investing.com-- Most Asian stocks climbed on Tuesday with shares in Japan and South Korea leading gains on strength in major technology stocks, while Chinese shares declined on new U.S. export restrictions.
The NASDAQ Composite and S&P 500 hit record closing highs on Monday on a rally in heavyweight tech stocks, as optimism over artificial intelligence remained in play.
U.S. stock index futures steadied in Asian trade as investors awaited an address from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and a series of economic data releases due later this week to further gauge the central bank's outlook on interest rates.
Gains in the tech sector came as investors repositioned following Washington’s latest export restrictions targeting 140 Chinese companies, which are aimed at cutting China’s access to advanced chips and equipment vital for AI.
The restrictions are expected to benefit global semiconductor players outside China.
Japan, South Korea lead gains on tech strength
Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped 1.6%, and TOPIX rose 1.3% with technology and industrial sectors contributing significantly. Tech majors Tokyo Electron Ltd (TYO:8035) jumped more than 4%, while Advantest Corp. (TYO:6857) and SoftBank Group Corp. (TYO:9984) gained over 3%, each.
Japanese chip firms stand to gain modestly as the restrictions disrupt their Chinese competitors, said Bernstein analysts in a note.
South Korea's KOSPI also surged 1.6%, with heavyweights Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (KS:005930) and SK Hynix Inc (KS:000660) gaining 1% and 1.5%, respectively.
Indonesia's Jakarta Stock Exchange Composite Index climbed 1.4%.
Elsewhere, Thailand's SET Index was 0.8% higher, and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.7%, while India's Nifty 50 Futures indicated a muted open.
Chinese stocks weaken on U.S. export restrictions
Bucking the local trend, the Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 index fell 0.3% and Shanghai Composite index was slightly lower, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dropped 0.4%.
The latest U.S. restrictions reportedly include export bans on Chinese chip equipment firms like NAURA Technology Group Co Ltd (SZ:002371) and Piotech Inc (SS:688072). Both stocks plunged over 4% each.
The U.S. also is poised to place additional restrictions on Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC) (HK:0981) which is already added to the U.S. Entity List. Hong Kong listed SMIC shares fell 2.3%.
Markets are closely watching for updates on U.S.-China trade relations, as incoming U.S. President Donald trump earlier vowed to impose additional tariffs on Chinese goods. Trump had over the weekend also threatened to impose sanctions on the BRICS group of nations.