Asia Tech Wire (Feb 22) -- U.S. chipmaker Nvidia Corp. drove Japanese chip-related stocks soaring after it released earnings that beat market expectations.

Nvidia on Wednesday reported revenue of $22.1 billion for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024, up 265% year-on-year, beating analysts' estimates of $20.41 billion, thanks to high demand for its industry-leading artificial intelligence chips.

Looking ahead to the first quarter of fiscal 2025, Nvidia expects revenue of $24 billion, plus or minus 2%.

Several Japanese tech stocks rose on Thursday after Nvidia reported strong earnings.

Chipmaking equipment maker Tokyo Electron Ltd (8035.T) jumped nearly 6%, while SCREEN Holdings Co Ltd (7735.T) surged more than 10%.

Advantest Corp (6857.T) rose 7.49% and SoftBank Group Corp (9984.T), the Japanese parent of British chip designer Arm Ltd. gained 5.14%.

Japan's Nikkei 225 index also broke through its all-time high set in December 1989 on Thursday, rising as much as 2.19% in a single day to 39,098.68 points.

Meanwhile, global funds are pouring into Japan, making it the best-performing stock market over the past year.

A weaker yen is providing a further boost to Japanese exports, while efforts to improve corporate governance at the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) are raising market expectations for higher shareholder returns.

Charu Chanana, Singapore-based market strategist at Saxo Capital Markets Pte. Ltd., told Bloomberg that "Nvidia's earnings beat is just the perfect catalyst for Japanese equities to reach record highs."

"And structural tailwinds from geopolitics to corporate reform, as well as a weak yen, continue to suggest that Japanese equities is a story where macro meets momentum and a peak is still rather far," Chanana said.