View of the Tokyo skyline in Tokyo, July 27, 2021.
Julian Finney | Getty Images Sports | Getty Images
Hong Kong-listed shares in China's CATL, the world's largest battery maker, fell more than 8% on Thursday as investors sought to lock in profits after a six-month sales restriction on about 77.5 million shares held by early investors expired.
According to the company's prospectus, the 23 major investors include Sinopec Hong Kong, Kuwait Investment Authority and UBS Asset Management.
CATL's IPO reportedly raised HK$35.7 billion ($4.6 billion), making it the world's biggest initial public offering this year, as investors bet on whether the company can capitalize on the electric vehicle boom, according to a company filing.
hong kong Hang Seng Index rose 0.14%, and the mainland's CSI300 rose 0.32%.
Other markets in the region also rose, driven by gains in semiconductor stocks. Nvidia's better-than-expected earnings and bullish outlook appeared to strengthen confidence in global AI trade.
Shares of the semiconductor giant rose more than 4% in after-hours trading after third-quarter results beat expectations for profits and sales. The AI chip darling also posted better-than-expected fourth-quarter sales forecasts, with CEO Jensen Huang saying demand for its current generation Blackwell chips was “an order of magnitude.”
Japanese benchmark Nikkei Stock Average The index rose 3.7% in early trading, while the TOPIX index rose 1.67%.
Chip stocks lifted the index as investors cheered tech conglomerate Nvidia's quarterly report. Softbank Semiconductor manufacturing equipment maker soars 8% Tokyo Electron Chipmaker soars nearly 7%, Lasertec adds 5.6% Renesas Electron The stock is trading 4.8% higher.
The 30-year Japanese government bond yield rose nearly 3 basis points to a record high of 3.375%. The 20-year Treasury yield rose more than 3 basis points to 2.853%, the highest level since 1999, while the 10-year Treasury yield rose 3.6 basis points to 1.799%, the highest level since 2008.
Japan 30 year government bond
South Korea's Kospi index rose 2.63%, and the small-cap Kosdaq rose 1.75%. Positive investor sentiment spread to South Korea as well, with memory chip maker SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics, leading companies in the index, rising more than 6% and 3.3%, respectively.
Australia's ASX/S&P200 index rose 1%.
Taiwan's Tyex rose as much as 2.6%. Nvidia chip maker stock price TSMC Although the index rose more than 4%, Hon Hai Precision Industry The company, also known as Foxconn and a supplier to Nvidia, rose 2.84%.
India's Nifty 50 edged up 0.18%, while the Sensex index rose 0.19%.
U.S. stock futures rose in early Asian hours on upbeat guidance from Nvidia, with recent trading reflecting concerns over high valuations, debt financing and a potential decline in chips. This is likely to have increased investor sentiment regarding AI trading.
“While Nvidia's numbers remain very strong right now, the inevitable question is whether Mr. Huang's company has already reached its highest levels of growth and market share,” said David Russell, head of global market strategy at TradeStation.
all night long S&P500 rose 0.38% to close at 6,642.16, ending a four-day losing streak, while the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.59% to settle at 22,564.23. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 47 points, or 0.1%, to end at 46,138.77.
—CNBC's Sean Conlon and Pia Singh contributed to this report.
