Stock market today: Asian stocks mostly up, as Chinese technology firms see stock rally

[February 14, 2025]  By ZEN SOO

HONG KONG (AP) — Asian stocks were mostly up Friday on the back of a near-record rally on U.S. stocks, as investors paid little attention to U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest tariff threats.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index surged 3.69% to 22,620.33, while the Shanghai Composite was up 0.43% to 3,346.72. The Nikkei 225 slid 0.79% to 39,149.43. Meanwhile, the S&P/ASX 200 in Australia was up 0.19% to 8,555.80 and South Korea’s KOSPI was up 0.31% to 2,591.05.

“There are much tailwinds for risk sentiments in the region to tap on, with the positive handover in Wall Street, weaker US dollar and lower Treasury yields,” Yeap Jun Rong, a market strategist at IG, wrote in a note.

“However, Japan’s Nikkei lagged, likely pressured by a stronger yen,” he said.

Chinese technology stocks listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange all gained on Friday, with stocks from video games firm Tencent and smartphone maker Xiaomi surging 7% while e-commerce firm Alibaba and online services firm Meituan gained over 6%.

Chinese technology firms have enjoyed renewed interest since Chinese AI company DeepSeek released an artificial intelligence model that rivals those of OpenAI while being trained on cheaper hardware. Companies like Alibaba have in recent weeks also released new iterations of their own AI models, and search engine firm Baidu said Friday that it would make its Ernie Bot AI chatbot available for free to public.

“With Beijing doubling down on AI as a national priority, investors are rushing to reprice China’s tech and innovation potential. This is no longer just a stimulus-driven bounce — it’s a paradigm shift,” said Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management.

The American flags hangs on the facade of the New York Stock Exchange in New York's Financial District on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)

“If momentum holds, the Hang Seng Index could finally break out of its multi-year slump, reigniting global appetite for Chinese equities.”

Early European trading Friday was mostly down after hitting record highs earlier this week as hopes rose for a Ukraine peace deal. France’s CAC 40 was up 0.3%, while Germany’s DAX dipped 0.13%. Britain’s FTSE 100 was down 0.25%.

On Thursday, the S&P 500 climbed 1% to pull within 0.1% of its all-time high set last month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 342 points, or 0.8%, and the Nasdaq composite jumped 1.5%.

U.S. stocks rose after officials in Washington said reciprocal tariffs would take time to implement.

In energy trading, benchmark U.S crude added 15 cents to $71.44 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 38 cents to $75.40 a barrel.

In currency trading, the U.S. dollar weakened to 152.58 Japanese yen from 152.82 yen. The euro cost $1.0481, up from $1.0466.

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AP Business Writer Stan Choe in New York contributed.

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