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The Nikkei 225 and KOSPI advanced on Friday as falling oil prices and easing US Treasury yields revived demand for Asian technology shares, while investors absorbed another step towards tighter monetary policy after the Bank of Japan raised rates to a 31-year high. South Korea's KOSPI climbed about 2%, outperforming the region as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix rallied and foreign investors returned to the market.
A brand-new ETF just gave U.S. investors a single-ticker shortcut into South Korea's semiconductor giants, but a 0.65% fee, zero performance history, and a heavily concentrated basket raise real questions about whether the tradeoff is worth it.
Asian stocks diverged on Tuesday as South Korea's KOSPI struggled to shake off pressure on semiconductor shares while Japan's Nikkei 225 recovered, leaving the region's two most AI-sensitive markets moving in opposite directions ahead of key US and Japanese rate decisions. The KOSPI fell as much as 0.76% in early Seoul trading before paring most of the decline, extending a difficult stretch after Monday's sharp technology sell-off.
South Korea's KOSPI and Japan's Nikkei 225 led a broad Asian selloff on Friday as oil surged above $108 a barrel and US bond yields moved dangerously close to 5%, reviving concerns that inflation could force central banks to tighten further. The KOSPI dropped more than 2.5%, extending Thursday's weakness, while the Nikkei 225 tumbled about 2.8%.
South Korean stocks fell sharply on Thursday as Brent crude held above $100 a barrel, pushing the KOSPI back below the 7,000 mark just a day after it reclaimed the level for the first time in more than a month. The benchmark was down 1.28% at 6,961.23 by late morning in Seoul.
South Korea's KOSPI outperformed Asian markets on Wednesday while Japan's Nikkei 225 recovered from the previous session's selloff, as renewed strength in semiconductor and AI-related shares offset concerns over oil approaching $100 a barrel. The KOSPI rose 1.67% to 7,070.94 by late morning, reclaiming the 7,000 mark as Samsung Electronics gained 1.48% and SK Hynix jumped 4.85%.
South Korea's demand for power in the coming years is set to surge on plans by chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix to expand production and the building of new AI data centres, according to the country's energy minister.
South Korea's KOSPI surged about 3% on Monday, leading gains across Asia as investors piled back into semiconductor stocks on renewed optimism over artificial intelligence demand. The benchmark opened 3.34% higher at 6,910.78 and was up 2.97% at 6,886.09 by late morning in Seoul.