South Korea’s Kospi index jumps nearly 18% on a surge in chipmaking stocks
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A dealer walks past near the screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, July 31, 2026. /Lee Jin-man)
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An employee walks past near the screen showing the SK Hynix stock price at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, July 31, 2026. /Lee Jin-man)
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A person walks past an electronic board showing Japan’s Nikkei index at a securities firm Friday, July 31, 2026. /Eugene Hoshiko)
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People stand in front of the electronic board showing Japanese Yen and U.S. Dollar exchange rate at a securities firm Friday, July 31, 2026. /Eugene Hoshiko)
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A person stands near an electronic board showing Japan’s Nikkei index at a securities firm Friday, July 31, 2026. /Eugene Hoshiko)
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A dealer walks past near the screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, July 31, 2026. /Lee Jin-man)
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A dealer walks past near the screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, July 31, 2026. /Lee Jin-man)
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An employee walks past near the screen showing the SK Hynix stock price at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, July 31, 2026. /Lee Jin-man)
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An employee walks past near the screen showing the SK Hynix stock price at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, July 31, 2026. /Lee Jin-man)
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A person walks past an electronic board showing Japan’s Nikkei index at a securities firm Friday, July 31, 2026. /Eugene Hoshiko)
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A person walks past an electronic board showing Japan’s Nikkei index at a securities firm Friday, July 31, 2026. /Eugene Hoshiko)
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People stand in front of the electronic board showing Japanese Yen and U.S. Dollar exchange rate at a securities firm Friday, July 31, 2026. /Eugene Hoshiko)
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People stand in front of the electronic board showing Japanese Yen and U.S. Dollar exchange rate at a securities firm Friday, July 31, 2026. /Eugene Hoshiko)
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A person stands near an electronic board showing Japan’s Nikkei index at a securities firm Friday, July 31, 2026. /Eugene Hoshiko)
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A person stands near an electronic board showing Japan’s Nikkei index at a securities firm Friday, July 31, 2026. /Eugene Hoshiko)
By
ELAINE KURTENBACH and CHAN HO-HIM
Updated [hour]:[minute] [AMPM] [timezone], [monthFull] [day], [year]
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BANGKOK (AP) — South Korea’s Kospi index jumped nearly 18% on Friday, tracking gains on Wall Street as artificial intelligence-related stocks bounced back after losses earlier this week
U.S. futures edged 0.5% higher and oil prices slipped more than 1%
The Kospi surged at the open and then wavered, eventually rocketing up 17.9% to 6,695.45, its largest single day gain ever. Shares of South Korean technology giant Samsung Electronics surged 28%, while memory chipmaker SK Hynix soared 30%
Despite its big jump Friday, the Kospi remains well below the peak of over 9,000 that it hit in June. It had shed more than 17% in the previous three days as investors dumped technology stocks in part over worries about an AI bubble and rising competition from chipmaking and AI rivals in China. The benchmark’s previous largest single day gain, of nearly 12%, was in October 2008 during the global financial crisis
The rebound followed Microsoft’s report Thursday of stronger than expected profits for the last quarter, which were taken as a signal that big spending on AI is translating into profits. Microsoft’s shares soared 15.5% for its best day in nearly 18 years
Traders flooded back into the market to snap up shares in tech companies that had recently swooned over doubts that the huge investments will yield adequate returns
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European shares also advanced in early trading Friday. Germany’s DAX rose 1% to 25,870.09, while the CAC 40 in Paris climbed 1% to 8,570.48. Britain’s FTSE picked up 0.8% to 10,983.31
In other Asian trading, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 climbed 4% to 64,362.02. Multinational investment holding company and OpenAI-investor SoftBank Group jumped 13.8%, while chip equipment maker Tokyo Electron rose 6.2%
“The market went from throwing AI stocks overboard to fighting for the remaining seats before most traders had finished writing the obituary,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary
The dollar bounced back after falling sharply against the Japanese yen overnight, gaining 0.5% to 160.28 yen. Regulators in Japan and the U.S. were suspected of intervening in the market after weeks of the dollar trading above 160 yen, near 40-year highs
Japan’s Nikkei financial newspaper said the intervention was coordinated, with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York conducting what is known as a “rate check” where it asks various banks to provide exchange-rate quotes for currency trades
Officials from both sides refrained from comment on the matter
As expected, the Bank of Japan opted to keep interest rates unchanged Friday as it wrapped up a policymaking meeting. Analysts said officials may have stepped into the markets to limit speculative moves linked to the central bank’s decisions
“Intervention in support of the yen may not work any better now than it has previously, but the persistence of the Japanese authorities suggests to us that the yen will remain around the 160 level this year before staging a more sustained rebound next year,” Jonas Golterman of Capital Economics said in a commentary
The Federal Reserve likewise kept its benchmark rate unchanged at its policy meeting this week. A gap between interest rate levels in Japan and the U.S. has been a key factor behind the yen’s weakness
The euro fell to $1.1509 from $1.1524
Taiwan’s Taiex surged 8%, helped by a 10% jump for chipmaker TSMC
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.1%, to 8,976.80
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng edged 0.1% higher, to 25,884.83, while the Shanghai Composite index advanced 0.7% to 3,832.26
An official survey showed China’s factory activity slowed in July, the first contraction in five months. Some analysts believe China’s weak domestic demand and recent typhoons helped to slow manufacturing activity. The economy grew at its slowest annual pace in more than three years in the April-June quarter, at 4.3%
A meeting of China’s powerful Politburo a day earlier had little impact on market levels Friday since no major policy changes were announced
Oil prices traded lower as tensions between the U.S. and Iran kept the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for oil transport, largely closed
Brent crude, the international standard, dropped 1.4% to $85.70 per barrel. It was trading near $72 a barrel before the Iran war began in late February
Benchmark U.S. crude shed 1.6% to $82.23 per barrel
ING commodities analysts said Friday that there were signs of increased oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, which helped ease the pressure on oil supplies, with ship tracking data showing tanker crossings rose slightly, though the numbers were still limited
On Thursday, Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 gained 1.7%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 1.2% and the technology-heavy Nasdaq composite rose 2.8%
Chan reported from Hong Kong
ELAINE KURTENBACH
CHAN HO-HIM
