Asian Stocks Outside of Japan Hit Record High as Tech Rallies

Asian stocks rose to near a record, with a measure excluding Japan already at an all-time high, as investors’ enthusiasm for artificial intelligence bets helped erase losses caused by the war in Iran.

The MSCI Asia Pacific excluding Japan Index climbed as much as 2.9%. Tech-heavy benchmarks in South Korea and Taiwan surged more than 4% each, while markets in mainland China and Japan were among those shut for holidays. The moves came after the S&P 500 Index extended a record-breaking streakBloomberg Terminal Friday to mark a fifth week of gains. The US benchmark also capped its best month since late 2020.