AI, tech recovery, Nikkei 225, Hang Seng Index

Asia-Pacific markets opened higher Tuesday, after Wall Street’s tech stocks rebounded on a rally in Google parent  and hopes of a Fed rate cut.

Optimism about Alphabet’s standing in the AI race started last week after the tech giant announced its upgraded AI model, Gemini 3. The stock closed 6.31% higher Monday. Other AI-related stocks, such as Broadcom and Micron Technology, also popped higher, building on a wider rebound that started on Friday, when the head of the New York Federal Reserve left the door open to a December interest rate cut.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index climbed 1.14% in early trading, while the Topix index advanced 0.7%.

AI-related stocks were among the top gainers on the Nikkei 225, with semiconductor testing equipment supplier Advantest trading 4.8% higher and chip equipment maker Lasertec adding 2.75%. Tokyo Electron, which provides essential chipmaking equipment to foundries that manufacture Nvidia’s chips, gained 2.39%.

South Korea’s Kospi index jumped 2.39%, and the small-cap Kosdaq moved up 1.7%. Index heavyweights SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics were up as much as 5% and 4%, respectively.

Australia’s ASX/S&P 200 pared early gains to hover above the flatline.

Futures for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index pointed to a higher open, trading at 25,874, against the index’s previous close of 25,716.5.

U.S. equity futures were little changed in early Asian hours.

Overnight, the S&P 500 rose 1.55% to close at 6,705.12, while the Nasdaq Composite jumped 2.69% to settle at 22,872.01. It was the tech-heavy index’s best day since May 12, when it rose 4.35%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 202.86 points, or 0.44%, to end at 46,448.27.

— CNBC’s Sean Conlon and Yun Li contributed to this report.