Global stock markets rise as investors continue to bet on AI

Asian markets make gains, following strong showing for US tech stocks.

A general view shows the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York on October 16, 2026 [Yuki Iwamura/AP Photo]

Global stock markets have climbed as investors continue to bet on bright prospects for the tech giants driving the AI boom.

In the United States, all three major stock indexes rose on Tuesday, led by the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite, which gained 1.18 percent.

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The benchmark S&P 500 rose 0.6 percent, while the narrower Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.03 percent.

Five of the “Magnificent Seven” tech stocks rose, led by Tesla, up 4.04 percent.

Amazon gained 1.61 percent, while Apple and Alphabet gained 0.93 percent and 0.9 percent, respectively.

Nvidia, the world’s most valuable public company, rose almost 1 percent after announcing a $3bn investment in Meta’s equity offering.

Meta fell 1.64 percent, while Microsoft fell 0.24 percent.

Other big movers in tech included CoreWeave, Western Digital and Advanced Micro Devices, which gained 7.94 percent, 6.95 percent and 5.45 percent, respectively.

Asia Pacific markets rally

Asian stock markets followed Wall Street’s gains on Wednesday.

South Korea’s KOSPI led the pack, with the benchmark index closing up 6.63 percent.

The surge came as South Korea’s SK Hynix, one of the world’s top three memory chip makers, announced blockbuster third-quarter results, with operating profit soaring about 630 percent year-on-year to 83.33 trillion won ($62.4bn).

SK Hynix’s South Korea-listed shares soared 10.89 percent following the results.

In Japan, the benchmark Nikkei 225 ended the day up 1.08 percent, while the TAIEX in Taiwan climbed 2.04 percent.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index was up 0.33 percent shortly before market closing.

“A rally in a host of AI-related stocks including neocloud group CoreWeave, data storage specialist Western Digital and IT solutions provider Super Micro Computing implies that investors aren’t over the AI craze just yet,” Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell in London, told Al Jazeera.

“These types of stocks have become a litmus test for the mood of the market. They typically fall when investors are worried that the AI story might be running out of steam, and they rise when animal spirits are running high around the technological revolution,” Coatsworth said.

“The big unknown is whether this is the start of a new AI stock rally, or just a relief bounce after a period where investors were starting to question how long positive momentum could be sustained,” he added.

Employees work near the screens showing the KOSPI at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, on October 28, 2026 [File: Lee Jin-man/AP]

Investors are eagerly anticipating upcoming earnings reports from chief tech players as they try to gauge whether their huge investments in AI will pay dividends.

Microsoft and Alphabet report their latest results on Wednesday, followed by Amazon on Thursday and Apple on Monday.

On Monday, AI giant Anthropic filed paperwork for its hotly anticipated IPO, reporting a net loss of $80.7bn in the first half of 2026 on $16.3bn in revenue.

Tech firms have poured hundreds of billions of dollars each into AI infrastructure, prompting debate over whether a speculative market bubble could be forming similar to the one that preceded the 2000 dot-com crash.

Global AI investment is forecast to hit $2.7 trillion in 2026 and $3.6 trillion in 2027, according to Gartner, a technology insights company.

Oil prices, which have been elevated since the start of the US-Israel war on Iran, rose nearly 2 percent percent amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, including hostilities between Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis.

Futures for Brent crude, the global benchmark, topped $116 a barrel, up more than 60 percent from before the war began.

受美国科技股强劲表现的提振，亚洲股市普遍上涨。

2026年10月16日，纽约证券交易所交易大厅全景。[Yuki Iwamura/AP Photo]

由于投资者继续押注推动人工智能繁荣发展的科技巨头的光明前景，全球股市持续攀升。

周二，美国三大股指全部上涨，其中科技股为主的纳斯达克综合指数领涨，上涨1.18%。

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基准标准普尔500指数上涨0.6%，而道琼斯工业平均指数小幅上涨0.03%。

“七大科技股”中有五只上涨，其中特斯拉领涨，涨幅达 4.04%。

亚马逊股价上涨 1.61%，苹果和 Alphabet 股价分别上涨 0.93% 和 0.9%。

全球市值最高的上市公司英伟达宣布向 Meta 的股权发行投资 30 亿美元后，股价上涨近 1%。

Meta股价下跌1.64%，微软股价下跌0.24%。

科技股中其他涨幅较大的公司包括 CoreWeave、西部数据和 AMD，它们的股价分别上涨了 7.94%、6.95% 和 5.45%。

亚太市场上涨

周三，亚洲股市跟随华尔街股市上涨。

韩国综合股价指数（KOSPI）领涨，基准指数收盘上涨6.63%。

此次上涨正值韩国 SK 海力士（全球三大存储芯片制造商之一）公布了令人瞩目的第三季度业绩之际，该公司营业利润同比增长约 630%，达到 83.33 万亿韩元（624 亿美元）。

受业绩公布影响，SK海力士在韩国上市的股票上涨了10.89%。

在日本，基准日经225指数收盘上涨1.08%，而台湾加权指数上涨2.04%。

香港恒生指数在收盘前上涨0.33%。

“包括新云集团CoreWeave、数据存储专家西部数据和IT解决方案提供商Super Micro Computing在内的一系列人工智能相关股票的上涨表明，投资者还没有从人工智能热潮中消退，”伦敦AJ Bell市场主管丹·科茨沃思告诉半岛电视台。

科茨沃思表示：“这类股票已经成为市场情绪的试金石。当投资者担心人工智能的故事可能后劲不足时，它们通常会下跌；而当人们对科技革命充满热情时，它们则会上涨。”

“最大的未知数是，这是否预示着新一轮人工智能股票上涨行情的开始，还是仅仅是投资者开始质疑积极势头能够持续多久之后的一次反弹，”他补充道。

2026年10月28日，在韩国首尔韩亚银行的交易室里，员工们在显示韩国综合股价指数（KOSPI）的屏幕附近工作。[图片：Lee Jin-man/AP]

投资者们正热切期待各大科技巨头即将发布的财报，试图从中评估他们在人工智能领域的巨额投资是否会带来回报。

微软和Alphabet将于周三公布最新业绩，亚马逊将于周四公布，苹果将于周一公布。

周一，人工智能巨头 Anthropic 提交了备受瞩目的 IPO 文件，并报告称，2026 年上半年净亏损 807 亿美元，收入为 163 亿美元。

科技公司已各自向人工智能基础设施投入数千亿美元，引发了关于是否可能形成类似于 2000 年互联网泡沫破灭前的投机性市场泡沫的争论。

据科技洞察公司 Gartner 预测，全球人工智能投资额将在 2026 年达到 2.7 万亿美元，在 2027 年达到 3.6 万亿美元。

自美以对伊朗发动战争以来，油价一直居高不下。在中东持续冲突（包括沙特阿拉伯与也门伊朗支持的胡塞武装之间的敌对行动）的影响下，油价上涨了近 2%。

全球基准布伦特原油期货价格突破每桶 116 美元，比战争爆发前上涨超过 60%。