[MARKET ANALYSIS] KOSPI and Taiwan Weighted Index leads gains as TSMC (2330 TT) earnings lift the tech-heavy indices

• Asia-Pac stocks trade mostly in the green, aided by the tech sector following strong TSMC earnings.
• ASX 200 has started Friday’s trade with slight gains and is on track for its biggest weekly gain in seven weeks, with upside seen in IT and financials. Stateside, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs posted positive earnings, providing some relief in the banking sector following a poor start to the earnings season.
• Nikkei 225 continues to hold below 54,000 and is the laggard in the Asia-Pac session amid continued worries over the new opposition party. A weaker USD/JPY is also adding to losses in the Nikkei, with the pair finding weakness following a Bloomberg report citing concerns about the economic impact of a weaker JPY.
• KOSPI is the outperformer and is set for a third straight week of gains, aided by strength in the tech sector as TSMC (2330 TT) feeds through into other major tech companies. Samsung (+3.5%) and LG Electronics (+7.5%) are among the outperformers as the AI trade re-emerges.
• Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp. initially traded with solid gains, with both indices seeing upside of as much as 0.5%, but have pared back most of those gains, with the Shanghai Comp. slipping slightly into negative territory.
• US equity futures rebound slightly from the pullback from all-time highs, led by the tech-heavy NQ (+0.3%), as strength in Asia-Pac tech equities fuels gains.
• European equity futures are indicative of a weak open, with the Euro Stoxx 50 future down 0.3% after cash closed up 0.6% on Thursday.

TSMC's strong earnings have lifted tech-heavy indices in Asia, notably driving the KOSPI and Taiwan Weighted Index higher. This positive sentiment in tech, spurred by TSMC's results, suggests a resurgence in the AI trade, which is benefiting major players like Samsung and LG Electronics. However, concerns about the Japanese yen's weakness are weighing on the Nikkei, illustrating a dichotomy in market performance across the region.