Asian chip stocks show mixed gains after Nvidia outlook underlines AI-driven memory demand

Market Analysis

Asian chip stocks moved unevenly on Thursday after Nvidia reported blockbuster second-quarter results and issued an aggressive revenue outlook that reinforced demand for AI infrastructure but also highlighted margin pressure from rising memory costs and an uncertain China picture.

Nvidia said second-quarter revenue reached $96.2 billion, up 106% yearonyear, with Data Center revenue rising 117% to $89 billion. CFO Colette Kress told investors the company expects roughly 70% revenue growth in fiscal 2028, significantly above the 44% average analyst estimate. CEO Jensen Huang added that demand is running well above the 70% level Nvidia can currently supply. Nvidia shares initially fell about 1.6% in regular trading before climbing more than 5% in afterhours trade as investors digested the numbers and the forward guidance.

The companys upbeat demand signal for AI hardware did not produce a uniform rally across the region. Traders balanced robust AI spending against rising memory costs, softer margin guidance and the fact Nvidias thirdquarter outlook assumed no datacenter compute revenue from China. The net effect was a selective market reaction: memory chip makers and some suppliers that stand to benefit from tighter memory markets outperformed, while several chiptesting and equipment vendors lagged.

South Koreas KOSPI led gains in the region, rising roughly 1.9% on the session. SK Hynix gained about 3.2 to close near 1.742 million won, and Samsung Electronics rose roughly 2.2% to 267,250 won. Both names are among the clearest Asian beneficiaries of Nvidiadriven AI spending: SK Hynix is a major supplier of highbandwidth memory (HBM) used in AI accelerators, and Samsung is expanding its HBM exposure.

Nvidias warning that memory supply remains tight supports stronger demand and pricing for memory suppliers potentially a net positive for their revenue even as higher memory costs weigh on customers margins and could compress equipment makers margins in the near term.

Some direct Nvidialinked equipment suppliers underperformed. Advantest fell about 1.7%, Disco pared earlier losses to end down roughly 0.3%, and Powertech Technology dropped about 1.2%. TSMC, which manufactures Nvidias GPUs, gained only about 0.4%. The performance of these equipment and foundry names is being watched closely as a barometer of confidence in the broader AI hardware cycle because they reflect both demand for capacity and sensitivity to component cost inflation.

In Japan, memoryrelated and components stocks saw notable moves: Kioxia jumped about 5.2%, Murata rose roughly 3%, TDK gained around 1.4%, and optical lens maker Largan climbed almost 10%. Those moves underscore that while the AI hardware story is supportive of certain parts of the supply chain, gains are uneven and highly stockspecific.

China and Hong Kong markets

China and Hong Kong markets were mixed as investors weighed Nvidias strong demand message against the companys exclusion of any China datacenter compute revenue in its nearterm forecast a reminder that export restrictions remain a major constraint. The Hang Seng fell about 0.3% while the CSI 300 and Shanghai Composite rose modestly (about +0.1% and +0.2% respectively).

Chinese technology names showed a split performance: Baidu jumped roughly 4.4%, SMIC gained about 1.7% and Tencent rose near 0.7%, while Alibaba eased around 0.6%. Xiaomi, NetEase and Meituan declined by roughly 1.3%, 1.8% and 0.8% respectively. The dispersion illustrates how market participants are parsing direct AI beneficiaries and domestically focused tech exposure differently in light of Nvidias China caveat.

Outlook and takeaways

Nvidias results reinforced the longterm narrative of accelerating AI infrastructure spend, but the companys margin caution and the Chinarelated revenue exclusion introduced shortterm uncertainty that led investors to be selective across the supply chain. Memory suppliers look relatively well placed to benefit from tighter supply and stronger pricing, while some equipment and test vendors face pressure from cost passthrough dynamics and potential pushback from customers.

For investors, the episode highlights two themes: the structural lift from AI to memory demand and the risk that rising component costs can compress margins across the ecosystem. Market moves are likely to remain stockspecific as traders sort winners from names more exposed to margin squeeze or China policy risk.