Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 was higher after hitting a fresh record high on Thursday.
In Japan, the Nikkei galloped another 395.62 points, or 0.9%, to 44,768.12.
Shares of SK Hynix jumped Friday after announcing that it had finished developing HBM4, the latest generation of high-bandwidth memory seen as vital for artificial-intelligence applications.
Its shares rose over 7% to hit the highest since 2000 as of 9.40 p.m. ET Thursday, marking its ninth day of rally.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng recovered 301.84 points, or 1.2%, to 26,388.16.
Shares of Alibaba and Baidu listed in Hong Kong also jumped over 6% and 10% respectively, after both companies began deploying their own in-house chips to train artificial intelligence models, The Information reported Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Alibaba has reportedly been using its chips for smaller AI models since early this year, while Baidu is testing its Kunlun P800 chip to train new versions of its Ernie AI model, with both companies partly replacing those made by Nvidia in the process.
Equities in several parts of the world have been rallying as easing inflation pressures and expectations for U.S. rate cuts boost investor sentiment.
In other markets
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 erased 26.03 points, or 0.6%, to 4,522.
In Singapore, the Straits Times index hesitated 11.58 points, or 0.3%, to 4,344.24
In Korea, the Kospi gained 51.34 points, or 1.5%, to 3,344.20, another record close.
In Taiwan, the Taiex index popped 258.93 points, or 1%, to 25,474.64
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 slumped 1.25 points, to 13,227.90.
In Australia, the ASX 200 regained 59.86 points, or 0.7%, to 8,864.89
