Nikkei tops 69,000 as cooling U.S. inflation lifts Asia

Japan's Nikkei 225 extended its rally on Friday, climbing more than 500 points at the open to trade above 69,000 as a record-setting session on Wall Street and cooler-than-expected U.S. inflation data fueled buying in AI and semiconductor stocks across Asia.moomoo+1

The S&P 500 closed at a record 7,798.99 on Thursday, gaining 0.65%, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.81% to 26,803 after the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the Producer Price Index was flat in July, well below economists' expectations for a 0.2% increase. The data followed a moderate July Consumer Price Index report showing annual inflation slowing to 3.4%, reinforcing hopes that price pressures are easing.bls+2

Asian Markets Ride the Wave

The rally rippled across Asian markets on Friday morning. In Tokyo, Kioxia Holdings jumped more than 7%, while SoftBank Group rose over 5%, buoyed by a Bloomberg report that its portfolio company OpenAI is on pace to exceed $40 billion in annual revenue. Advantest and Tokyo Electron also drew strong buy orders in early trading.tradingkey+1

In South Korea, the Kospi surged 3.6%, pushing toward 7,000 points and entering a technical bull market, according to Bloomberg. SK Hynix ↗ 7.29% gained over 6% while Samsung Electronics rose more than 2%. CNBC reported that the gains pushed the Kospi into bull market territory, with the index having climbed roughly 22% in just ten days as the global AI trade regained momentum.cnbc+2

Inflation Data Eases Fed Pressure

The PPI report showed that a 3.1% decline in energy prices offset modest increases in services costs, bringing annual wholesale inflation down to 4.7%. Core PPI, excluding food and energy, rose 0.2% for the month, also below the 0.3% forecast. Combined with the July CPI reading, the data suggested that the Federal Reserve may have more room to hold rates steady rather than tighten further.bloomberg+3

Memory Chips Lead the Charge

Memory and semiconductor stocks were the clearest beneficiaries. In the U.S. session preceding the Asian rally, SanDisk ↗ 13.67% surged nearly 14%, while Micron Technology ↗ 4.23% gained over 4%. The momentum carried into Asia, extending a broader rebound in chip stocks that has defined the 2026 rally across Japan and South Korea.reuters+3