Asian Stocks Climb Amid Boost from US Stock Futures

Muscat: Asian stocks rose on Thursday: buoyed by gains in US stock futures, after strong sales forecasts from Micron Technology reignited confidence in the artificial intelligence sector. South Korea's Kospi index climbed nearly 5% at the start of trading, while the MSCI Asia Pacific index rose by more than 1%. According to Yemen News Agency, Japan's Topix index rose by 1%, while the Japanese yen remained stable at 161.77 against the dollar. In Hong Kong, Hang Seng index futures fell by 0.3%. Australia's S and P/ASX 200 index declined by 0.4%, while Euro Stoxx 50 futures fell by 0.5%. Shares of Micron Technology, the largest U.S. maker of computer memory chips, surged nearly 15% after the market closed, following its quarterly sales forecast which significantly exceeded Wall Street estimates, signaling that the AI-driven growth wave remains strong. These eagerly awaited results, coupled with a decline in oil prices, provided some relief to Asian stock traders after two consecutive days of losses that had p ushed the regional index to its lowest level in nearly two weeks. The offshore yuan was steady at 6.8128 against the dollar, while the Australian dollar slipped 0.1% to $0.6893.