Asian markets climb after strong results from chipmaker Micron

TOKYO: Most Asian stock markets climbed in early trade Thursday on the back of strong earnings of US chipmaker Micron.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 was up 2.31% at around 0030 GMT, while Seoul’s benchmark Kospi index soared 5.65%.

All eyes had been on the release of earnings from Micron, which reported Wednesday quarterly revenue that had quadrupled year on year.

The results of the chipmaker had been closely watched to gauge demand in the sector and whether the artificial intelligence rally really has legs.

For the current quarter, Micron is forecasting revenue of around $50 billion, which would be another record.

The Kospi’s rally Thursday came after SK hynix announced Wednesday that it planned to raise $29 billion through a listing on Wall Street’s tech-heavy Nasdaq index.

That was enough to send its share price in Seoul up 11 percent in early trading on Thursday, before easing slightly.