The key facts
- Kospi rose 4.4%, Nikkei 1.2%; SK hynix and Samsung gained at least 7%
- SpaceX reported its first quarterly profit as a public company: $4.4 billion versus expectations half that size
- Oil rose more than 1% after UKMTO reported an attack on a tanker off Qatar's northern coast
Rally in Asia after weeks of declines
Asian markets rose on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, on a recovery in technology stocks, AFP reports. Investors were encouraged by corporate reports ahead of a key earnings season. Seoul and Tokyo were again the leaders, where chipmakers and other participants in the artificial intelligence boom rose markedly after several difficult weeks caused by concerns about profitability and debt financing. Shares of South Korea's SK hynix and Samsung rose at least 7%, Japan's Kioxia, Advantest and SoftBank gained 2–4%; all of these stocks had fallen sharply since the start of last week.
SpaceX report and other corporate news
Sentiment was supported by Elon Musk's SpaceX report: the company for the first time reported a quarterly profit as a public company. Net profit for July–September was $4.4 billion — more than double expectations, against a loss of $1.1 billion a year earlier. Revenue of the company, which went public after a world-record IPO in June, grew 161% to $14.6 billion — the growth was driven by deals leasing computing capacity to AI companies. Musk also said he would support a merger of SpaceX and Tesla, calling such a combination a 'good idea'; according to AFP, it would be the largest in history. An additional boost came from preliminary quarterly results from server maker Super Micro Computer, which beat forecasts.
Analysts' reaction and index movements
'A clear beat on earnings and constructive corporate messaging are helping to ease the anxiety around AI that has emerged in recent sessions,' said Tim Waterer of KCM Trade. In his words, if Meta and Tesla reports prove equally strong, it could reignite enthusiasm around AI and give the sector a more durable impulse. The Kospi index in Seoul rose 4.4% to 5,799.33; shares of infrastructure company Elice soared about 30%, nearly recouping the massive losses of its stock market debut on Tuesday. The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo added 1.2% to 64,823.55, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong rose 0.3% to 23,930.98, and the Shanghai Composite gained 0.1% to 3,738.38. Markets in Singapore, Wellington, Manila and Jakarta also rose. In Sydney, data center developer NEXTDC plunged more than 40% after a lowered forecast and an update to its capital expenditure program. Chinese battery maker CATL fell 10% in Hong Kong on July–September profit growth below expectations.
Wall Street backdrop and rising oil prices
The gains followed a positive session on Wall Street, although, according to analysts, much of the gains was linked to traders rotating out of the technology sector into industrial companies: the Dow closed up 1.0% at 52,495.88, while the Nasdaq slipped slightly. The FTSE 100 in London lost 0.3%, closing at 10,733.00. Oil rose more than 1% on supply concerns: the British maritime agency UKMTO reported that a tanker sailing off Qatar's northern coast reported being hit by 'multiple projectiles,' with an unspecified number of casualties; the agency did not specify the vessel's ownership. The attack occurred roughly 500 km from the Strait of Hormuz, where vessels have been under attack since late February, when the US and Israel, in AFP's wording, provoked a war in the Middle East; Iran has blockaded the strait and shells vessels it considers to have violated the regime. On Tuesday, both major oil contracts fell after Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said US-Iran talks 'are ongoing.' By the end of the day, WTI rose 1.3% to $99.12 a barrel, and Brent gained 1.4% to $110.25.
