Anthropic Files for IPO, Japanese and Korean Chip Stocks Lead Asia-Pacific Markets Higher

Anthropic's IPO filing reignited market enthusiasm for AI trades, driving Asia-Pacific stocks broadly higher on Tuesday, with chip stocks the biggest winners. The Nikkei 225 rose 1.7%, the Kospi surged 4.5%, and the MSCI Asia-Pacific index gained 1% overall.

The Nikkei 225 closed up 1.7%, with chip-related stocks leading gains across the Japanese market. Tokyo Electron rose 4.5% and Screen Holdings rose 5.2%, both benefiting from AI capital expenditure expectations sparked by Anthropic's listing application.

South Korea's market resonated in tandem, with SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics both rising; SK Hynix gained more than 6% and Samsung Electronics nearly 5%, while the Kospi jumped as much as 4.5% in a single day to a recent high, underscoring the semiconductor sector's central role in this round of AI sentiment recovery.

Meanwhile, the dollar rose to 157.68 yen, up further from Monday's Tokyo close of 156.98, with the yen's temporary weakness providing some support for export sectors.

However, whether the rebound can be sustained still faces multiple tests. This week, AI heavyweights including Alphabet, Microsoft and Amazon will report quarterly results in succession, and the market will closely scrutinize their capital expenditure plans and return-on-investment signals; the Federal Reserve's rate decision will also land on Wednesday, and policy uncertainty has not yet dissipated.

Anthropic IPO Filing: A Key Catalyst for AI Sentiment

The catalyst for this round of Asia-Pacific tech stock rebound is the S-1 prospectus filed by Anthropic. This is the long-awaited listing move by the company focused on developing frontier AI models, and it will also be a key step toward becoming the first listed company whose core business is AI model development.

Anthropic's IPO filing is seen as an important test of investor confidence in the AI industry. In the preceding weeks, chip stocks had suffered a sharp pullback on concerns over elevated valuations and the pace of cash burn at AI companies, and market sentiment had clearly cooled. Anthropic's listing application offers investors a new window to examine actual AI demand.

Hideyuki Ishiguro, chief strategist at Nomura Asset Management, said, "Anthropic's IPO filing is expected to reignite market interest in the AI sector." He also noted that, given that semiconductor stock valuations are already at relatively low levels and technical signals are improving, the sector has a basis for a near-term rebound.

Meanwhile, Wall Street's AI financing boom has not cooled. Meta Platforms is seeking to raise up to $95 billion, Broadcom arranged a $63 billion chip procurement financing deal, and SpaceX signed an equipment financing lease agreement of about $40 billion. Rick Rieder, BlackRock's global chief investment officer of fixed income, said in a Bloomberg Television interview, "This is one of the most exciting investment periods I've seen in my career."

South Korea's Kospi jumped as much as 4.5% in a single day, making it the standout major index in Asia-Pacific markets, with strong gains in SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics the main drivers. The Kospi has long been regarded as a barometer of the AI trade, and its sharp rebound directly reflects the market's repricing of global semiconductor demand expectations.

Japan's market also showed clear sector divergence. Gains in Tokyo Electron and Screen Holdings significantly outpaced the broader market, confirming the logic that AI data center construction continues to drive demand for semiconductor equipment. The Nikkei 225 rose 1.7%; the Topix gained a relatively modest 0.6%, indicating that this round of gains has pronounced structural characteristics rather than being a broad-based rally.

In terms of Asia-Pacific market linkage, the MSCI Asia-Pacific index rose 1% overall, with tech and semiconductor sectors the main contributors, as regional market sentiment recovered in sync with the rebound in Wall Street tech stocks.

Yen Moves: Export Pressure Temporarily Set Aside

Notably, the yen did not pose a clear obstacle to this rebound. The dollar traded at 157.68 yen on Tuesday, weaker than the previous trading day, which objectively eased expectations that yen appreciation would squeeze export company profits.

However, over a longer horizon, the yen's exchange rate remains a sword of Damocles hanging over Japan's export sector. The market's temporary disregard of exchange-rate factors this time reflects more a short-term rise in risk appetite brought about by the recovery in AI sentiment than a fundamental reassessment of currency risk.

In addition, Japan Exchange Group is scheduled to release quarterly results later on Tuesday, and investors are closely watching the progress of the corporate earnings season, which will also provide the market with more reference signals on Japan's economic fundamentals.

Rebound Sustainability: Earnings Season and the Fed Pose a Double Test

Although the market performed strongly on the day, several market participants take a cautious view of the rebound's durability, believing that this week's earnings data and policy signals will be decisive.

Jung In Yun, chief executive of Fibonacci Asset Management Global, said, "The key question is whether this week's results can rebuild market confidence in the durability of AI-related demand. For the recovery to continue, we need to see reassuring earnings guidance and continued foreign buying."

On the schedule, Alphabet and Microsoft will report results on Wednesday, with Amazon and Intel following on Thursday. The market will focus on these companies' AI capital expenditure scale and return on investment to judge whether current AI infrastructure spending is sustainable.

The Federal Reserve's rate decision will also land on Wednesday. Current market pricing shows about a 10% probability of a rate hike at this meeting, but the probability of a hike this year has risen to more than 70%. Christopher Harvey, head of equity and portfolio strategy at CIBC, said in a research note, "With so many companies reporting this week, normally macro factors would take a back seat, but the Fed meeting and its potentially complicated press conference also cannot be ignored."

Regarding the sustainability of AI financing, the market's underlying concerns have not fully dissipated. The continued cash burn of frontier AI labs and the rising scale of debt and equity flowing into the sector have led some investors to worry about the sustainability of related financing. Whether the optimism sparked by Anthropic's IPO filing can persist under the test of earnings season remains to be seen. Risk Disclosure and Disclaimer

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