Shanghai-listed shares of Chinese chipmaker Wingtech plunged 10% at the open on Tuesday, hitting the daily limit for a second straight session after the Dutch government took control of its Netherlands-based subsidiary firm Nexperia.
The Netherlands’ Minister of Economic Affairs revealed on Oct. 12 that the decision, made under the “Goods Availability Act” on the company in September, was intended “to prevent a situation in which the goods produced by Nexperia (finished and semi-finished products) would become unavailable in an emergency.”
Nexperia specializes in the high-volume production of chips used in automotive, consumer electronics and industrial products, making it vital for maintaining Europe’s technological supply chains.
In South Korea, the benchmark Kospi index added 1.01% to hit an all-time high of 3,646.67. The construction and mining sectors led gains on the index, with Korea Zinc up 17.95%, and Tongyang Inc soaring 17.49%.
Shares of LG Energy Solution soared over 7%, rallying for a second straight session after the battery maker estimated its third-quarter operating profit will rise 34%, boosted by U.S. demand for electric vehicles ahead of a Sept. 30 phaseout of government incentives.
Samsung Electronics advanced 2.47% after the company projected a 32% rise in third-quarter profit year on year, at about 12.1 trillion Korean won ($8.48 billion), beating LSEG SmartEstimates of 10.1 trillion won.
Meanwhile, the small-cap Kosdaq rose 0.84%.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index declined 1.34%, while the Topix lost 1.31%.
SoftBank’s shares fell over 5% after its subsidiary, British chip designer Arm, was working with OpenAI on its deal with Broadcom, according to tech publication The Information. On Monday stateside, OpenAI and Broadcom made their partnership official to build and deploy 10 gigawatts of artificial intelligence accelerators starting late next year.
Australia’s ASX/S&P 200 was flat.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index opened 0.75% higher, while the Hang Seng Tech Index added 0.9%. Mainland China’s CSI 300 advanced 0.87%.
Singapore’s economy grew 2.9% in the third quarter, preliminary government data showed Tuesday, faster than the 1.9% expected by economists polled by Reuters. The economy expanded by 4.4% in the second quarter.
U.S. equity futures were little changed in early Asian hours. On Monday stateside, the key benchmarks recovered a significant chunk of their losses suffered last week after U.S. President Donald Trump softened his stance on China.
Following a slew of tit-for-tat trade restrictions and heated exchanges, Trump said “Don’t worry about China, it will all be fine!” in a Truth Social post Monday.
China has slapped fees on U.S. ships for docking at its ports, in retaliation for similar charges imposed by Washington on Chinese ships. Both fees are scheduled to kick in Tuesday.
Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed higher by 587.98 points, or 1.29%, to 46,067.58, which equates to 67% of its Friday loss. The S&P 500 rose 1.56% to finish at 6,654.72, retracing 56% of its prior decline. The Nasdaq Composite popped 2.21% to settle at 22,694.61 as beaten-down technology stocks led the bounce.
— CNBC’s Dylan Butts, Alex Harring, Sarah Min and Fred Imbert contributed to this report.
