SK Hynix’s HBM4, Nikkei 225, Kospi, Nifty 50

Shares of SK Hynix jumped Friday after announcing that it had finished developing HBM4, the latest generation of high-bandwidth memory seen as vital for artificial-intelligence applications.

Its shares rose over 7% to hit the highest since 2000 as of 9.40 p.m. ET Thursday, marking its ninth day of rally.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 1.64%, while mainland’s CSI 300 inched 0.19% higher.

Shares of Alibaba and Baidu listed in Hong Kong also jumped over 6% and 10% respectively, after both companies began deploying their own in-house chips to train artificial intelligence models, The Information reported Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Alibaba has reportedly been using its chips for smaller AI models since early this year, while Baidu is testing its Kunlun P800 chip to train new versions of its Ernie AI model, with both companies partly replacing those made by Nvidia in the process.

Elsewhere in Asia, markets were trading higher, tracking Wall Street gains overnight.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 0.58% after hitting a fresh record high on Thursday, while the Topix added 0.61%. South Korea’s Kospi climbed 0.83%, and the small-cap Kosdaq jumped 0.65%.

India’s Nifty 50 added 0.17%.

Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 added 0.41%.

Equities in several parts of the world have been rallying as easing inflation pressures and expectations for U.S. rate cuts boost investor sentiment.

“Momentum and the promise of easier money are the main reasons. Various central banks, like the ECB and PBOC, have cut rates or used monetary stimulus, and now the Fed is likely to join the party,” said Steve Sosnick, chief strategist at Interactive Brokers.

Overnight stateside, all three major averages closed higher, as traders anticipated that the latest reading of a key consumer inflation gauge wouldn’t stand in the way of the Federal Reserve lowering its benchmark interest rate next week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 617.08 points, or 1.36%, at 46,108.00, while the S&P 500 ended up 0.85% at 6,587.47. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.72% to 22,043.07. All three major averages scored new intraday all-time highs in the trading day and closed at record levels.

The CPI reading showed an increase of 0.4% for the month, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, higher than the 0.3% that economists polled by Dow Jones were expecting.

CNBC’s Sean Conlon and Alex Harring contributed to this report.