On Friday, shares of South Korean chipmakers SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics reached unprecedented levels following a nearly week-long holiday, driven by a succession of artificial intelligence agreements. SK Hynix shares moderated their increase to 8.22%, whereas Samsung Electronics experienced a rise exceeding 6%, achieving new record levels. The two companies stand to gain from a potential agreement between OpenAI and Advanced Micro Devices, which may result in Sam Altman’s firm acquiring a 10% equity interest in AMD. AMD’s shares experienced a significant increase in value, rising over 40% thus far this week following the announcement.

Nvidia shares have experienced a 2.6% increase this week, following remarks from Jensen Huang regarding a rise in demand in recent months. Huang also confirmed the company’s involvement in funding Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup, xAI, expressing that he is “super excited about the financing opportunity they’re doing.” Asia-Pacific markets exhibited a mixed performance on Friday, reflecting the declines observed. As investors evaluated the economic landscape.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 experienced a decline of 1.01%, closing at 48,088.8, while the Topix fell by 1.85%, finishing the trading day at 3,197.59. South Korea’s Kospi increased by 1.73% to close at 3,610.6 following a holiday break. The small-cap Kosdaq experienced an increase of 0.61%, concluding the session at 859.49. Overnight, the three major averages experienced a decline. On Thursday, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite experienced a pullback from their recent all-time intraday highs, reflecting a momentary pause in their upward trajectory following gains in the prior session, amidst the ongoing U.S. government shutdown.

The broad market index experienced a decline of 0.28%, concluding at 6,735.11, whereas the tech-centric index fell by 0.08%, ending at 23,024.63. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, in contrast, fell by 243.36 points, representing a decrease of 0.52%, concluding at 46,358.42.