Asian Stocks Rise as AI Rally Lifts Markets on October 27

Asian stock markets climbed Tuesday, October 27, 2026, as investors extended Wall Street's artificial intelligence-driven rally ahead of major technology earnings reports and central bank decisions. South Korea and Japan led regional gains, supported by strong demand for semiconductor shares, while US stock futures edged higher and crude oil prices continued to decline.

South Korea's Kospi surged more than 4% before trading 3.6% higher at 5,667.99 by midday, according to the Associated Press. SK Hynix gained 7%, while Samsung Electronics advanced 4.8%. Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 2.2% to 63,542.77, with semiconductor testing equipment maker Advantest jumping more than 10% and SoftBank Group climbing 7%.

Other Asian markets delivered mixed results. Hong Kong's Hang Seng slipped 0.2% to 23,174.44, and the Shanghai Composite fell 0.1% to 3,692.58. Taiwan's Taiex added 0.5%, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.3% to 8,838.10. Investors also monitored a closed-door high-level meeting of China's ruling Communist Party for potential policy announcements.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 advanced 0.7% Monday, recovering more than its losses from the previous week and moving within 1.8% of its record high set earlier in October. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3%, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.8%, according to the Associated Press.

Nvidia helped drive the advance, rising 2.4% as the chipmaker recovered some ground after three consecutive losing weeks. However, uncertainty persisted across the broader AI sector as investors assessed the cost of borrowing to finance data centers and purchase advanced computing chips.

Meta Platforms outlined plans to raise $35 billion through a stock offering to support its AI investments. The company also said Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices and Broadcom had indicated they might purchase a combined $5 billion of shares in the offering. Separately, Anthropic disclosed financial details about its losses as it prepared for its first public stock sale.

SpaceX, which also operates the xAI business, announced a deal worth approximately $40 billion with an entity managed by Apollo Global Management to lease AI computing power. The Associated Press reported that investors were weighing the scale of these commitments against questions about future profitability.

Corporate earnings have helped ease some concerns about the durability of the AI-driven rally, according to Adam Sarhan, chief executive of 50 Park Investments in New York. Speaking to Reuters in a report published October 21, he said recent results had provided relief after technology shares fell sharply over concerns about the sector's outlook.

In that Reuters report, Sarhan described the recent earnings picture as mixed but stronger than expected. He also cited declining US bond yields and reduced expectations for further interest rate increases as factors supporting investor sentiment.

Technology earnings remain a central focus this week. Alphabet and Microsoft are scheduled to report quarterly results Wednesday, followed by Amazon on Thursday. According to the Associated Press, approximately one-third of S&P 500 companies are due to publish their latest quarterly results during the week.

Interest rate expectations also remain important to global markets. The US 10-year Treasury yield eased to 4.98% from 5.00% late Friday, while the two-year yield rose to 4.71% from 4.69%. The Associated Press reported that investors widely expected the Federal Reserve to leave its federal funds rate unchanged when its latest meeting concludes Wednesday.

Crude oil prices declined during early Tuesday trading. Brent crude, the international benchmark, fell 0.8% to $109.82 a barrel, while US benchmark crude dropped 0.8% to $100.93. The US dollar strengthened to 157.65 Japanese yen from 157.50 yen, while the euro edged down to $1.1173 from $1.1176.

Developments in other markets highlighted continuing financial pressures. Reuters reported on October 21 that France's 10-year government bond yield had reached 5% for the first time since 2002, reflecting concerns about the country's economic outlook. The yield premium over benchmark German 10-year bonds had also moved back toward its early-October high of nearly 160 basis points.

Brazilian stocks also faced substantial pressure after President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva won reelection in a result that surprised investors. According to the Associated Press, concerns that his administration could increase public spending and intensify pressure on government debt accompanied a decline of approximately 14% in the Bovespa stock index.