AI-fueled optimism lifts Nvidia and Amazon, but investors across Asia brace for central bank decisions and valuation fatigue.
MARKET INSIDER – After a four-session winning streak, South Korea’s Kospi slipped 1.29% on Tuesday as Asia-Pacific markets traded without a clear direction. The pullback followed a night of mixed cues from Wall Street, where the Nasdaq and S&P 500inched higher on tech strength while the Dow Jones fell, underscoring fragile investor sentiment despite the ongoing artificial intelligence boom.
In New York, Amazon jumped 4% after unveiling a $38 billion deal with OpenAI that will tap hundreds of thousands of Nvidia GPUs, signaling deeper Big Tech bets on generative AI. Nvidia itself gained 2% after winning U.S. approval to export high-end chips to the United Arab Emirates, a move seen as strengthening its global AI supply chain.
Yet in Asia, traders turned more cautious. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.7% ahead of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s rate decision, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 0.25% and the Topix rose 0.52%, supported by strong corporate earnings and a weaker yen. In South Korea, the Kospi’s pause came after an extraordinary run—12 gains in the past 15 sessions—driven by AI enthusiasm and reforms aimed at narrowing the nation’s “Korea discount,” a long-time drag on equity valuations.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index edged up 0.23%, while mainland China’s CSI 300 was flat, reflecting investor hesitation amid weak domestic consumption and geopolitical uncertainty.
The broader takeaway: global tech momentum remains strong, but Asia’s markets are entering a phase of selective optimism—where AI excitement alone may no longer be enough to offset tightening financial conditions and policy risks.
For investors chasing the next rally, the question is shifting from who leads in AI to who can sustain the gains when the euphoria fades.
