Asia-Pacific markets open higher Thursday, led by chip stocks

Asia-Pacific stock markets opened higher on Thursday, 23 July, with semiconductor shares leading the gains. Japan's Nikkei 225 rose about 0.55% and the Topix added 0.22%, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 climbed 0.72%. South Korea's KOSPI also posted a sizeable advance, led by SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics.

The main driver of the optimism was Alphabet's sharply raised artificial-intelligence spending plans, announced with its second-quarter results, which lifted demand expectations for AI-related chips. Working the other way, oil holding at a multi-week high on regional tensions weighed on part of the market.