BANGKOK – In a surge reminiscent of Wall Street’s recent rally, South Korea’s Kospi index leaped over 16% on Friday. The bounce-back comes after a tumultuous week for stocks linked to artificial intelligence, which regained their footing after earlier setbacks.
Meanwhile, U.S. futures experienced a slight uptick, and oil prices saw a decline, painting a mixed yet interesting picture for international markets.
During the early hours of Asian trading, the Kospi escalated by 16.8% to settle at 6,531.71. This rise marked a stark recovery from the intense drops suffered earlier in the week. Driving this rebound were impressive gains from major players like Samsung Electronics, which surged 22.5%, and the memory chip powerhouse SK Hynix, skyrocketing by 27.7%.
This week’s turmoil in the Kospi index has been largely attributed to fears of a potential bubble in the AI sector and the escalating competition from Chinese chipmakers. Earlier in the week, Tuesday and Wednesday saw a dramatic plunge of over 16%, driven by a mass sell-off in tech stocks. This dip continued with a further 1.2% slide on Thursday, dragging the index below 5,600.
Not far behind, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 also saw a robust increase in early Friday trading, climbing 5.2% to reach 65,072.42. Key performers included the SoftBank Group, a multinational investment entity with stakes in OpenAI, which saw its shares leap by 15.1%. Additionally, Tokyo Electron, a firm specializing in chip equipment, delighted investors with a 10.1% rise.
Oil prices traded lower early Friday. Brent crude, the international standard, was down 1.1% to $85.92 per barrel.
On Thursday, Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 was up 1.7% to 7,437.63. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 1.2% to 52,208.06. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite rose 2.8% to 25,122.18.
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