Market UpdatesJul 10, 20262 Min

Global market wrap: Asian stocks rebound after rally in chip stocks; Softbank gains nearly 14%

We are back with quick updates on global stock markets, commodities and corporate developments that are making headlines today.

Asian markets rebounded sharply on Friday on the back of a strong rally in chip stocks in Japan and South Korea following overnight gains in the US stocks.

Investors were also optimistic about the US-Iran conflict not spiralling beyond control as technical talks were still ongoing despite fresh strikes by both countries.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped for a second day, rising 1.8% to 68,944. South Korea’s benchmark Kospi also shot up by 4.4% to 7,613.

China’s Shanghai Composite index rose 0.9% to 4,063, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index jumped 1.8% to 24,468.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 traded higher by 0.6% to 8,818 on Friday, while Singapore’s Straits Times gained 0.4% to 5,457.

After a winning session on Thursday, US stock futures were trading almost unchanged on Friday. S&P 500 futures were down 0.04%, Nasdaq 100 futures were up 0.02%, while futures tied to the Dow lost 0.02%.

In Thursday’s session, the S&P 500 gained 0.8%, the Nasdaq 100 jumped 1.3%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 0.3%.

Oil prices rose for a third day on Friday as shipping in the Strait of Hormuz has almost come to a halt amid renewed fighting between the US and Iran. The US crude oil futures for July delivery inched up 0.25% to $72.55 per barrel by 0006 ET. Brent futures, the international benchmark, for August delivery gained 0.2 % to $76.44 per barrel.

Gold prices showed marginal gains after the US jobs market data came in better than expected. Spot gold inched up 0.03% on Wednesday to $4,125 per ounce by 0408 GMT, while US gold futures for August delivery were down 0.15% to $4,135 per ounce.

Here’s a look at some major developments across global markets:

Softbank Group shares surge nearly 14%

Japan’s Softbank Group Corp. shares surged as much as 13.8% in intra-day trade on Friday on account of a relief rally seen in chip stocks worldwide. OpenAI’s release of the GPT-5.6 model family and the “ChatGPT Work” agent also boosted sentiment.

Shares of tech giants in South Korea like Samsung Electronics jumped 5.5%, while SK Hynix gained 3%. US-based SanDisk Corp. closed higher by 7.6%, while Micron Technology gained 4.5%.

Micron jumps nearly 5% on huge investment plans

Micron Technology shares jumped 4.5% on Thursday after the company announced a new round of investments to boost the US semiconductor supply chain. Micron said it planned to accelerate its spending in the US through 2035.

The new strategic investment amounts to up to $3 billion. This includes $500 million for GlobalWafers to expand the company’s wafer development and manufacturing in its Texas facilities.

OpenAI launches its latest series of models

OpenAI on Thursday launched its latest series of models, GPT-5.6 Sol, Terra and Luna. The company limited the initial launch to a “small group of trusted partners” at the request of the US government.

After the launch, the company’s CEO Sam Altman told CNBC that GPT-5.6 Sol is 54% more token efficient on agentic coding tasks, and that it’s “as good or better” than competing models on the market.

SK Hynix to raise $26 billion through US ADRs

SK Hynix Inc. said on Friday it will raise about $26.5 billion through the listing of its American depositary receipts (ADRs) on the Nasdaq. This would make it the world's second-largest equity offering after SpaceX that raised $75 billion through its IPO last month.

According to a regulatory filing, SK Hynix has priced its ADRs at $149 apiece. The offering consists of 177.9 million ADRs, with each ADR representing one-tenth of its common share listed in South Korea.

Goldman Sachs wins $70 billion in asset management deals

Goldman Sachs on Thursday announced that it has won deals to manage a combined $70 billion in retirement assets for Verizon Communications and Lockheed Martin.

The mandates include about $30 billion in pension assets for Verizon and Lockheed Martin and $40 billion in Verizon defined-contribution retirement assets.

Avatr Technology reveals losses in fresh IPO papers

Electric vehicle Avatr Technology (Chongqing) Co. Ltd. refiled for its Hong Kong IPO. The company also disclosed a combined loss of $1.6 billion over three years on account of heavy investment in research and development.

The company had revealed on May 27 that its Hong Kong stock prospectus, filed in November 2025, had lapsed after six months. The company insiders described the lapse as a routine technical procedure in the IPO process.

Meta to put AI chip into production in September

According to a report, Meta Platforms plans to start manufacturing an artificial intelligence (AI) chip from ‌September to boost overall computing power to 14 GW next year.

The tech firm’s data center chip, code-named “Iris”, is part of a four-generation project for Meta Training and Inference Accelerators (MTIA) that it will design in-house.

Australia data center market size to reach $9.02 billion by 2031

The Australia data center market was valued at $4.22 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach $9.02 billion by 2031, expanding at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.52% during the forecast period, according to recent research by Arizton Advisory and Intelligence.