South Korea's Kospi surges over 16% as AI stocks rebound
The Kospi index rose more than 16% on Friday, led by gains in Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, after a three-day slump driven by concerns over an AI bubble.
South Korea's Kospi index jumped 16.5% to 6,515.40 on Friday, mirroring gains on Wall Street and a recovery in artificial-intelligence-related shares that had fallen earlier in the week. Samsung Electronics rose 24.8% and memory-chip maker SK Hynix climbed 27.8% as investors returned to technology stocks.
The rally followed a three-day decline of more than 17% that was sparked by worries about an AI bubble and rising competition from Chinese chip and AI firms. Microsoft reported stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings, sending its shares up 15.5% and reinforcing expectations that AI spending is translating into profit.
"The market went from throwing AI stocks overboard to fighting for the remaining seats before most traders had finished writing the obituary," said Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management.
Despite the sharp rise, the Kospi remains below its June peak of over 9,000. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 advanced 5.5% to 65,282.21, boosted by SoftBank Group's 15% gain and Tokyo Electron's near-11% increase. The Japanese yen weakened after suspected market intervention, though the dollar later recovered slightly.
Across the region, Taiwan's Taiex rose more than 7%, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 added 0.5%. Oil prices edged higher amid ongoing U.S.–Iran tensions, with Brent crude up 0.3% to $87.14 a barrel. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 gained 1.7%, the Dow Jones 1.2%, and the Nasdaq 2.8%.