Asian Stocks Rally as Chip and Tech Shares Power Strong Start to First Full Week of 2026

Asian stock markets surged on Monday, opening the first full trading week of the new year on a firm footing as technology and semiconductor shares extended their powerful year-end rally.

Wall Street ended last week mixed, and U.S. stock futures traded mostly steady during Asian hours, with slight gains in Nasdaq-linked contracts helping sentiment across regional tech names.

TOPIX and KOSPI surge to record highs

Japan led the advance. The Nikkei 225 jumped 2.7% to a two-month high, while the broader TOPIX index climbed 2.1% to a fresh all-time peak of 3,486.0 points.

Shares of major chip equipment makers rallied sharply, with Advantest and Tokyo Electron both soaring more than 6%.

South Korea’s KOSPI index also hit a record high, rising nearly 3% to 4,434.27 points, supported by strong gains in Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, which advanced between 3% and 6%.

In mainland China, the CSI 300 blue-chip index rose 1.6%, while the Shanghai Composite gained 1.1%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was little changed after closing almost 3% higher on Friday.

Chipmakers across the region rallied amid expectations that global demand for advanced processors and memory components will remain strong in 2026. Asian markets continued to benefit from their central role in the global semiconductor supply chain.

Elsewhere, futures tied to India’s Nifty 50 traded flat. Singapore’s Straits Times Index rose 0.5%, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was broadly unchanged.

China services data and geopolitical developments in focus

The renewed strength in Asian technology shares contrasted with the softer tone on Wall Street, where major U.S. indexes failed to produce a traditional year-end “Santa Claus rally” amid cautious positioning and mixed economic indicators.

However, momentum in the semiconductor sector carried over into January, helping underpin regional risk appetite.

Markets also appeared largely resilient to geopolitical developments after the United States launched an attack in Venezuela over the weekend and announced the capture of President Nicolás Maduro.

On the data front, a private survey showed that China’s services sector continued to expand in December, but at its slowest pace in six months. The RatingDog services PMI remained above the 50-point growth threshold, though softer new-business activity highlighted lingering economic headwinds in the world’s second-largest economy.