Nasdaq Rises Over 1% as US Tech Rebounds, but Asia Slumps; Nvidia Expands German AI Bets

Chip heavyweight Nvidia added 1.4%, Tesla jumped 3.8% and Alphabet rose about 1%, according to CNBC's Daily Open. In Japan, technology stocks were mostly lower and the Nikkei 225 fell 1.6%.

In Europe, Nvidia said it would back four German startups, part of a commitment of nearly $10 billion to invest in companies, universities and research institutions across Europe. The plan was announced at the Invest in Germany Summit in Berlin on Monday.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who described the technology as a major opportunity for the country's economy, urged small and medium-sized enterprises to open their doors to AI. "Please open your doors for AI to make use of your data," Merz said. "This is a real secret and a real advantage for Germany to make use of all the data which is already available in our companies."

Initial public offerings are drawing attention in Asia, where newly formed companies are reaching the listing stage sooner than they used to, according to venture capitalist Jenny Lee, senior managing partner at Granite Asia. "On average the holding period before a company goes public is eight to 10 years," Lee said in an interview. "But currently, the later stage companies we are seeing are actually preparing for IPOs when they are four to five years old."

In India, Jio Platforms has seen the anchor investor quota for its IPO oversubscribed more than 30 times, according to a source familiar with the matter, drawing bids from asset managers including BlackRock, Capital Group and GIC. The telecommunications and digital services company, backed by Meta and Google, plans to raise up to 302 billion rupees ($3.2 billion) in what would be India's largest IPO in rupee terms.

In Singapore, shares of several listed agricultural companies fell on Tuesday after Senior Minister K Shanmugam warned they would not "escape responsibility" for their possible role in the haze blanketing the city-state. Shanmugam said companies cannot "play hide and seek" with different corporate structures in the hope it will help them, and disclosed that seven companies had been questioned by the Singapore Exchange. "We will use every legal and regulatory lever at our disposal to exert pressure where it matters, including on their bottom lines, including on their access to financing, and including on their standing with investors," he said.