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SoftBank Group shares surge 13% as Asian tech stocks track Wall Street rebound
SoftBank Group shares rose 13% as Asian technology stocks followed a strong rebound on Wall Street. The gains came after last week’s steep global tech sell-off and suggest some investors are returning to chip and AI-related shares, though uncertainty remains.
SK Hynix gained 5.2%, Samsung Electronics 3.9% and Samsung SDI 6.87%; Taiwan’s TSMC added 0.45%, while China’s ChiNext index rose 1.4%. The Nasdaq climbed 2.74% and the S&P 500 rose 2.35%, its best session since 8 April. Last week’s sell-off reflected concerns that potential US restrictions on data-centre development could weaken AI demand, alongside doubts about the scale of infrastructure spending and how quickly it will generate profits.
In short
- SoftBank shares surged 13% as Asian tech stocks rebounded.
- Wall Street’s Nasdaq rose 2.74% and S&P 500 gained 2.35%.
- AI investment costs and possible US data-centre curbs remain concerns.
Explained simply
SoftBank Group is a Japanese investment and technology company with stakes in businesses around the world. Its investments include chip designer Arm, whose technology is used in many smartphones and other devices. SoftBank’s shares can therefore be affected by investors’ views of the wider technology sector.
Chipmakers such as South Korea’s SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics, and Taiwan’s TSMC, supply components used in computers and data centres. These facilities store and process information and are central to the growth of artificial intelligence. Investors are weighing expectations of rising demand against questions about the cost of building data centres and the profits they may bring.
Technology shares often move together across markets as investors respond to changes in expectations and confidence. US rules affecting data-centre development could influence how quickly the industry expands, so uncertainty about those rules and future spending matters to companies and investors across Asia as well as the United States.