Asian stock markets climb after earlier tech rout

Asian stock markets rebounded on Monday after a sharp technology-led sell-off last week, with gains following a recovery on Wall Street. The turnaround matters because the earlier decline was driven by concerns that US election results could slow data-centre construction needed to power artificial intelligence.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 rose 3.45 per cent, Taipei’s Taiex gained 5.72 per cent and Seoul’s Kospi climbed 1.68 per cent; Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 0.19 per cent. The sell-off followed a $2.5 trillion drop in US markets on Thursday and spread to Asia on Friday, when the Nikkei fell about 6 per cent and the Kospi about 9 per cent. Nvidia also said it would independently investigate its chief executive’s relationship with a woman accused of being a Chinese spy, while stating it had no reason to believe company secrets or national security had been compromised.