Nikkei 225 and TOPIX indexes soared to record highs on Thursday, extending gains from the prior session

Asian stocks rose on Thursday, with Japanese shares hitting a record high as markets priced out expectations of more interest rate hikes by the Bank of Japan, while upbeat earnings from Nvidia sparked a rally in South Korean chipmakers.

Broader Asian markets were less upbeat, with Chinese markets steadying from a two-day reopening rally, while Hong Kong dropped on weakness in technology names.

KOSPI was the best performer in Asia on Thursday, soaring more than 2% to a record high of 6,222.14 points.

While Nvidia dithered in after-hours trade, its earnings still sparked a rally in Asian chipmakers with exposure to the firm. Chief among these were Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and SK Hynix Inc, which also rallied to record highs.

The two– which are key suppliers of memory chips to Nvidia– were the biggest boosts to the KOSPI, with Nvidia’s earnings pointing to little cooling in AI-fuelled demand for advanced chips.

Samsung unveiled its new line of flagship smartphones– the S26– on Wednesday, while SK Hynix said it planned to invest 21.6 trillion won ($15.07 billion) to build a new production facility in South Korea.

Thursday’s gains in the KOSPI also came after the Bank of Korea left interest rates unchanged as widely expected, and hiked its outlook for economic growth on increasing optimism over the country’s chipmaking companies.

Nikkei 225 and TOPIX indexes soared to record highs on Thursday, extending gains from the prior session after Tokyo’s nomination of two dovish academics to the Bank of Japan sparked increased doubts over the central bank’s plans to raise interest rates.

Broader Asian markets were mixed. ASX 200 added 0.5%, hitting a record high on sustained gains in mining and bank stocks.

Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 and Shanghai Composite indexes dropped slightly, after rallying sharply in the past two sessions. Optimism over increased consumer spending during the Lunar New Year holidays saw both indexes rise sharply earlier this week.

Hang Seng index declined 0.5%, with tech names losing ground after clocking some gains this week. Internet giant Baidu Inc dropped 2.6% ahead of its fourth quarter earnings, with focus on the company’s massive AI spending.

Straits Times index shed 0.2%, while SET Index climbed 0.8% after an unexpected 25 basis point cut by the country’s central bank on Wednesday.