Taiwan stocks .TWII jumped as much as 2%. TSMC 2330.TW, which is the world's top contract chipmaker and a key Nvidia and Apple AAPL.O supplier, advanced 1%. The stock makes up around 43% of the benchmark.
Singapore's FTSE Straits Times Index .STI rose as much as 1.2% and notched a record high for the ninth straight session, largely on the back of major banks. The index has advanced more than 7% this month.
Asian stocks rise after softer U.S. inflation
Emerging Asian stock markets rose on Wednesday after a surprise slowdown in U.S. inflation reduced expectations for a near-term Federal Reserve rate increase, with South Korean shares gaining more than 8% in a rally led by SK Hynix and other chip stocks.
The MSCI EM Asia index .MIMS00000PUS gained as much as 3%, with South Korea's chipmaker-heavy KOSPI .KS11 advancing 8.2%, on track for its best session since early June.
Gains were led by AI memory chipmaker SK Hynix 000660.KS with a rise of up to 12.7%, while Samsung Electronics 005930.KS climbed nearly 8%.
Softer-than-expected U.S. inflation reduced the probability of a July Fed rate hike, pushing the U.S. dollar and Treasuries lower, while chipmakers Nvidia NVDA.O and Micron Technology MU.O jumped overnight. .N US/
That sentiment "flowed directly into Seoul and the broader chip complex", said Inki Cho, a senior financial market strategist at Exness.
"On top of that, SK Hynix's ADR (American Depository Receipts) SKHY.O surged 27%, and that move telegraphed the Seoul session before it even opened," Cho said.
Volatility is expected to persist, however, due to concerns about a potential earnings slowdown, portfolio rebalancing by foreign investors, and single-stock leveraged ETFs tied to memory chip bellwethers SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics.
"KOSPI has been on a rollercoaster of multi-percent swings in both directions all month, so one strong session doesn't reset the pattern," Cho said.
Currencies steady as Indonesia plans market reforms
Currencies in emerging Asian economies held their ground as the dollar =USD remained under pressure from fading prospects of a Fed rate hike this month.
The MSCI gauge of emerging market currencies .MIEM00000CUS inched lower. The Malaysian ringgit MYR= and the Singapore dollar SGD= strengthened marginally, while the Thai baht THB=TH, the Taiwan dollar .TWD=TP, and the Philippine peso PHP= slipped 0.1%.
The South Korean won KRW=KFTC touched a two-month high of 1,484.5 before giving up the gains.
In Indonesia, equities .JKSE gained for a fifth straight day, while the rupiah IDR= traded at a one-week high.
The Indonesia Stock Exchange CEO, Jeffrey Hendrik, said the bourse would add 37 stocks to its list of companies with highly concentrated shareholdings as part of reforms following a warning earlier this year from index provider MSCI MSCI.N.
The exchange's reforms include more detailed shareholder disclosures and raising the minimum free float for listed firms to 15% to boost liquidity and curb manipulation.
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