Tokyo's Nikkei 225 jumped 3.34% to 66,090 points on Tuesday, its sharpest one-day gain in weeks, as chip stocks led a broad rally across Asian markets. The move came after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC he expects a deal 'today or tomorrow' to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping lane for global oil. His comments helped push oil prices lower and fueled a risk-on mood that sent investors piling into semiconductor names.
Chip stocks power the rally
SoftBank Group surged more than 10%, while Tokyo Electron added 3.64%. Advantest gained 7%, and Kioxia rose 6.34%. In South Korea, SK Hynix jumped around 6% and Samsung Electronics gained more than 4%. The rally followed a volatile stretch for Japanese and South Korean equities, which had been under pressure from trade uncertainty and oil price spikes.
SK Hynix also announced a partnership with SanDisk to launch High Bandwidth Flash (HBF), a new memory standard designed for AI servers. The news added to the sector's momentum, with investors betting that demand for AI-related hardware will keep chip makers busy.
Wall Street's record close sets the stage
Overnight, the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average both closed at record highs. The Nasdaq climbed 2.59%, giving Asian markets a strong lead. Morgan Stanley's upgrade of South Korea's equity market points to further room for chip stocks to recover, analysts noted in the facts — though no specific analyst is named.
What's at stake in the Hormuz talks
Bessent's prediction of a near-term deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz is the key catalyst. The strait handles about a fifth of the world's oil supply, and any disruption pushes energy prices higher, which tends to hurt import-dependent economies like Japan and South Korea. A reopening would ease those pressures and lower input costs for manufacturers, including chip makers.
But the deal isn't done yet. Traders will watch whether the rally holds once Washington and Tehran confirm a Hormuz agreement. If talks stall, the gains could evaporate as quickly as they appeared.
