Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 increased by 0.89% to finish at 44,768.12, following a new record high on Thursday. SK Hynix’s shares surged on Friday following the announcement of the completion of HBM4 development, the newest generation of high-bandwidth memory considered crucial for artificial intelligence applications. The company’s shares increased by more than 7%, reaching their highest point since 2000 as of 9:40 p.m. Thursday, signifying a continuous rally for nine consecutive days.

Shares of Alibaba and Baidu listed in Hong Kong experienced increases of over 6% and 10% respectively, following the announcement that both companies have started utilizing their own in-house chips for training artificial intelligence models, as reported on Thursday, citing sources with knowledge of the matter. Alibaba has been utilizing its chips for smaller AI models since the beginning of this year, while Baidu is currently testing its Kunlun P800 chip to train new iterations of its Ernie AI model. Both companies are partially substituting chips produced by Nvidia in this endeavor. In other parts of Asia, markets experienced an upward trend, reflecting the gains observed in previous night. Where as –

• The Topix saw a gain of 0.4%, closing at 3,160.49.
• South Korea’s Kospi increased by 1.54%, concluding the trading
  day at 3,395.54, while the small-cap Kosdaq rose by 1.48% to reach 847.08.
• Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 increased by 0.68%, closing at 8,864.9.
• The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong experienced an increase of 1.14%,
  whereas the mainland’s CSI 300 saw a decline of 0.57%, closing at 4,522.00.
• India’s Nifty 50 experienced an increase of 0.43%.

Equities across various regions have been experiencing a rally, driven by easing inflation pressures and heightened expectations for U.S. rate cuts, which are enhancing investor sentiment. “The driving forces behind this are momentum and the expectation of more accessible capital. Various central banks, like the ECB and PBOC, have cut rates or used monetary stimulus, and now the Fed is likely to join the party,” said Steve Sosnick. Overnight in the U.S., all three major averages finished in the green, as market participants speculated that the most recent data on a crucial consumer inflation metric would not hinder the Federal Reserve from reducing its benchmark interest rate in the upcoming week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average concluded the trading session with an increase of 617.08 points, representing a rise of 1.36%, closing at 46,108.00. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 saw an uptick of 0.85%, finishing at 6,587.47. The Nasdaq Composite increased by 0.72%, reaching a value of 22,043.07. All three major averages achieved new intraday all-time highs during the trading day and concluded at record levels. The CPI reading indicated a rise of 0.4% for the month, as reported, surpassing the 0.3% anticipated by economists surveyed by Dow Jones.