Thursday, February 26, 2026 - Stock markets across Asia and Europe climbed to record highs on Wednesday, February 25, as investor concerns over the artificial intelligence sector eased and positive corporate updates boosted sentiment.
Exchanges in Seoul, Tokyo, London and Paris each surpassed
their previous intraday records, buoyed by gains in technology stocks and
strong earnings reports. Analysts said the rally reflected a cooling of fears
that the AI sector is overvalued and could disrupt multiple industries. Global
equities gained “as the apocalyptic AI narrative takes a small step back,” said
Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.
Technology shares advanced after rebounding on Wall Street a
day earlier. Investor sentiment improved following a presentation by AI firm
Anthropic, which highlighted the compatibility of its technology with existing
systems, helping to calm market jitters.
Over the weekend, a report by Citrini Research had warned
that sectors ranging from finance to food delivery could face risks from
emerging AI tools, adding to earlier volatility in tech stocks.
Attention later Wednesday is expected to turn to earnings
from chip giant Nvidia, which analysts say could significantly influence global
markets. “Put simply, meeting earnings expectations is unlikely to be enough to
drive the stock higher, especially if conservative guidance reinforces some
traders’ fears that demand for AI capital expenditure may be downshifting,”
cautioned City Index analyst Matt Weller.
In Asia, gains were supported by a strong lead from Wall
Street and by optimism following a US Supreme Court ruling that struck down a
broad set of President Donald Trump’s tariffs. South Korea’s Kospi index
crossed the 6,000-point mark for the first time, led by semiconductor
heavyweights Samsung and SK hynix. The benchmark has surged more than 40
percent this year after a strong rally in 2025.
Tokyo’s main index rose more than two percent to reach a new
peak, with technology companies Advantest and Tokyo Electron among the top
performers. In Europe, HSBC shares jumped around six percent by midday trading
after the banking giant reported better-than-expected earnings for 2025.
Meanwhile, the Japanese yen weakened further against the
dollar following reports that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi expressed concern
to Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda about further interest rate hikes.
Oil prices also edged higher after Iran dismissed US
allegations regarding its missile programme as “big lies.” In his State of the
Union address on Tuesday, President Trump accused Tehran of pursuing “sinister
nuclear ambitions” as Washington increased military deployments in the Gulf
region.
US and Iranian officials are scheduled to hold a third round
of talks on Thursday in Geneva as part of efforts to reach a diplomatic
resolution.
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