Nikkei Reclaims 60,000 as SoftBank Jumps 11 Percent in Chip Rally

The Nikkei 225 rose 3.05 percent to 60,557.56 at Tuesday's open, reclaiming the 60,000 level, while SoftBank Group surged 11.15 percent to ¥3,779. The rally tracked Monday's rebound on Wall Street, where the Nasdaq Composite gained 2.74 percent and the S&P 500 rose 2.35 percent, its best session since April 8. TradingKey first reported the Tokyo figures; CNBC put SoftBank's gain at 11 to 12 percent.

How far did the chip rally spread?

Korea's Kospi opened 5.55 percent higher at 5,297.59, a jump large enough to force intervention. The Korea Exchange activated a buy sidecar, halting program buy orders for five minutes to let the market cool. SK Hynix rose 8.01 percent to 1,227,000 won, and Samsung Electronics gained more than 5 percent. In Tokyo, memory maker Kioxia added 8.59 percent.

Japanese chip-equipment makers posted some of the biggest gains in the session, according to CNBC. The numbers were uniform rather than spectacular, which is itself telling — the whole tool chain moved together.

• Tokyo Electron: up 5.88 percent
• Advantest: up 5.41 percent
• Lasertec: up 6.34 percent
• Disco: up 6.95 percent
• Samsung SDI: up 6.27 percent

What drove the rebound?

The buying followed Monday's U.S. session, when the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index jumped 6.85 percent. One notable laggard: Nvidia trailed its chip rivals after its board opened an investigation into CEO Jensen Huang. That is an unusual distinction in a session that lifted almost everything semiconductor-adjacent.

The rally also unwound some of last week's damage. Asian tech stocks sold off hard on worries that a Democratic midterm sweep could bring tighter U.S. data-center rules and lower demand for AI chips. Doubts about when heavy AI spending will pay off added to the pressure. On Monday, Taiwan's Taiex jumped 4.9 percent, though foreign selling had held back the Kospi in the previous Asia session.

What happened to oil and gold?

Oil extended Monday's slide. Brent crude fell 24 cents, or 0.23 percent, to $92.33 a barrel at 0102 GMT, and WTI dropped 35 cents to $86.50, Reuters reported. Brent had settled 5.85 percent lower on Monday, its weakest close since Aug. 31, after President Trump said U.S. military action against Iran was not necessary "at this point." Tim Waterer of KCM Trade told Reuters that attacks on shipping near the Strait of Hormuz "have not escalated" enough to add a fresh risk premium to prices.

Gold slipped to about $4,125 an ounce in early Asian trade, according to FXStreet. Rate expectations did the damage. CME FedWatch data cited by FXStreet showed futures pricing an 84 percent chance of a December Fed rate hike, up from 72.8 percent before Friday's jobs report. The U.S. October CPI report, due at 8:30 a.m. ET Tuesday, will test that wager.

What comes next?

For chip investors, the question is whether Tuesday's sidecar-grade enthusiasm survives the CPI print. A hot inflation number would harden the Fed's December case, pressure gold further and test whether the Nikkei's return above 60,000 has legs beyond a single, well-chased session.