Asian markets surge, tech stocks lead powerful rally

August 20, 2026 (MLN): Asian stock markets moved higher on Thursday, led by a strong rebound in technology shares, following an overnight recovery on Wall Street after longer-dated U.S. Treasury yields retreated from recent multi-year highs.

South Korea's semiconductor-heavy market recorded the strongest gains, with the Kospi surging 6.19% and the Kosdaq rising 2.16%. SK Hynix jumped nearly 12%, while Samsung Electronics climbed 8.48%. Kakao also gained 4.55%, according to CNBC.

Japanese technology shares traded firmly higher, with SoftBank Group advancing 4.04%, Nintendo gaining more than 3%, Rakuten rising 2.44%, and memory chipmaker Kioxia adding 5.29%. The Nikkei 225 increased 0.89%, while the broader Topix gained 0.78%.

Elsewhere, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 1.13%, mainland China's CSI 300 added 0.21%, and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 edged up 0.23%.

The rebound followed a positive session on Wall Street, where the S&P 500 ended a three-day losing streak after yields on longer-dated U.S. government bonds declined.

Investor sentiment improved after the U.S. Treasury Department unveiled plans to more than double its repurchases of 10-, 20-, and 30-year debt over the coming months, helping ease pressure from the recent bond market selloff.

Earlier this week, the 30-year Treasury yield had climbed to its highest level in nearly two decades.

U.S. stock futures were also slightly higher in early Thursday trading, with S&P 500 futures up around 0.1%, Nasdaq-100 futures gaining 0.4%, and Dow futures adding 25 points.

Investors are now awaiting the latest U.S. weekly jobless claims data, while Walmart is scheduled to release its fiscal second-quarter earnings before the opening bell.

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