Sawt Falasteen - Stock markets rally on tech rebound

After four weeks of blood-letting fuelled by worries over the vast sums being invested in artificial intelligence, traders raced to pick up bargains following a series of strong earnings.

Seoul's Kospi had been at the forefront of the sell-off after hitting a record high a month ago, with chipmakers SK hynix and Samsung the poster children of the rout, losing around half their value in the panic.

However, the voracious buying sentiment that had characterised markets for much of the past two years was reignited Friday.

US giant Microsoft unveiled healthy earnings this week that saw their shares storm higher on Wall Street, helping the Nasdaq pile on almost three percent Thursday.

"The rebound in tech powered by Microsoft's extremely well-received numbers has helped lift the broader market mood, helping investors to put concerns about the Iran conflict and its continuing impact on ice for now," noted AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.

London's benchmark FTSE 100 index, whose major constituents do not feature technology companies, hit another record high as it came close to reaching 11,000 points for the first time.

Analysts have noted that heavy selling in recent weeks was focused on concerns about when the huge sums invested in artificial intelligence would see returns, rather than fundamental problems in the sector.

Seoul's eye-watering rally was helped by news South Korea's government planned to pump almost $14 billion into its sovereign wealth fund for AI investments and data centres.

South Korean chipmaker SK hynix surged 30 percent -- wiping out its losses from the previous two days.

It was helped by confirmation that Chey Tae-won, chair of parent company SK Group, had bought around $3 million worth of shares, his first purchases in a personal capacity, seen as a vote of confidence in the company.

Elsewhere Friday, the yen held gains against the dollar, a day after rallying amid speculation that Japanese authorities intervened to prop up the currency, which had been sitting around 40-year lows.

- Key figures around 1115 GMT -

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.2 percent at 10,922.50 points

Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.9 percent at 8,564.33

Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.6 percent at 25,764.37

Seoul - Kospi: UP 17.9 percent at 6,595.45 (close)

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 4.0 percent at 64,362.02 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.1 percent at 25,884.43 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.7 percent at 3,832.26 (close)

New York - DOW: UP 1.2 percent at 52,208.06 (close)

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 160.02 yen from 162.61 yen on Thursday

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1501 from $1.1529

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3444 from $1.3468

Euro/pound: UP at 85.63 pence at 85.60 pence

Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.6 percent at $89.59 per barrel

West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.7 percent at $84.13 per barrel

I.Matar--SF-PST