What's Affecting Markets Today
SK Hynix Soars on HBM4 Breakthrough; Asian Markets Track Wall Street Higher
Shares of SK Hynix surged more than 7 per cent on Friday after the chipmaker announced it had completed development of HBM4, the next-generation high-bandwidth memory crucial for artificial intelligence. The rally pushed the stock to its highest level since 2000, extending a nine-day winning streak.
Hong Kong equities also advanced, with the Hang Seng Index climbing 1.64 per cent. Tech giants Alibaba and Baidu gained 6 per cent and 10 per cent respectively after reports they are deploying in-house chips to train AI models, partly replacing reliance on Nvidia processors. Alibaba has been using its chips for smaller models since early 2025, while Baidu is testing its Kunlun P800 chip to power new iterations of its Ernie AI platform.
Across the region, markets mirrored Wall Street’s overnight gains. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.58 per cent after hitting a fresh record high, while the Topix added 0.61 per cent. South Korea’s Kospi climbed 0.83 per cent, India’s Nifty 50 edged 0.17 per cent higher, and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.41 per cent.
ASX Stocks
ASX 200 8,865.30 (+0.68%)
Banks and Miners Drive ASX Gains; Ventia Jumps on Contract Win
The Australian sharemarket climbed on Friday, buoyed by strength in financials and materials, following Wall Street’s record-setting session. The S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.7 per cent, or 60.4 points, to 8865.4 at 2:17pm, with 10 of 11 sectors trading higher.
Major banks led the rally, with Commonwealth Bank up 1.2 per cent, Westpac gaining 1.3 per cent, ANZ advancing 1.1 per cent, and NAB also rising 1.1 per cent. Materials added more than 1 per cent, as gold stocks surged on stronger bullion prices. Bellevue Gold climbed 7 per cent, Regis Resources rose 5.6 per cent, and Capricorn Metals gained 3.7 per cent. BHP also lifted 1.3 per cent.
Energy was the sole laggard, with Woodside down 3 per cent and Karoon sliding 3.5 per cent on weaker crude prices.
In stock-specific moves, Bank South Pacific rallied 8.5 per cent after reassurance from Papua New Guinea’s prime minister over government accounts. Ventia Services gained 4.7 per cent on a $100 million contract extension to maintain City of Sydney facilities.
Leaders
BFL BSP Financial Group Ltd (+12.75%)
BGL Bellevue Gold Ltd (+7.18%)
EOS Electro Optic Systems (+7.17%)
RRL Regis Resources Ltd (+6.42%)
HMC HMC Capital Ltd (+6.25%)
Laggards
PDI Predictive Discovery Ltd (-7.83%)
CYL Catalyst Metals Ltd (-4.82%)
MCY Mercury NZ Ltd (-4.30%)
ALL Aristocrat Leisure Ltd (-3.99%)
MSB Mesoblast Ltd (-3.88%)
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