The Kospi jumped 16.8% to 6,531.71, recovering much of the ground lost earlier in the week. The rally followed gains on Wall Street, where technology stocks rebounded after recent volatility.

South Korea’s largest chipmakers led the advance.

Samsung Electronics climbed 22.5%, while memory chipmaker SK Hynix soared 27.7%, reflecting renewed investor confidence in AI-related technology companies.

Chip Stocks Stage a Strong Recovery

The South Korean market has experienced sharp swings this week as investors reassessed valuations across the artificial intelligence sector.

The Kospi lost more than 16% over Tuesday and Wednesday during a broad technology sell-off fueled by concerns about a potential AI investment bubble and increasing competition from Chinese chipmakers.

The index fell another 1.2% on Thursday, slipping below the 5,600 level before rebounding sharply on Friday.

The latest rally suggests investors returned to semiconductor stocks after several sessions of heavy selling. The source material did not indicate whether the rebound fully erased the week’s earlier losses.

Regional Markets Move Higher

Other Asian markets also advanced.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 5.2% to 65,072.42 in early trading.

SoftBank Group, a major investor in OpenAI, gained 15.1%.

Semiconductor equipment maker Tokyo Electron climbed 10.1%, adding to the region’s technology-led rally.

The gains reflected improving investor sentiment after a stronger performance on Wall Street.

Wall Street Rebound Boosts Confidence

U.S. markets closed higher Thursday, helping lift sentiment before Asian trading began.

The S&P 500 gained 1.7% to 7,437.63.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.2% to 52,208.06.

The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite outperformed, climbing 2.8% to 25,122.18.

According to the supplied material, U.S. stock futures also edged higher early Friday, pointing to continued optimism.

Oil Prices Edge Lower

While equity markets rallied, oil prices moved lower.

Brent crude, the international benchmark, fell 1.1% to $85.92 a barrel in early trading.

The decline came as investors continued monitoring geopolitical developments alongside improving sentiment in global equity markets.

This report is based on reporting by The Associated Press.

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The benchmark Nikkei 225 surged 1.6% to a record close of 72,353.96, while South Korea’s KOSPI rose 0.7% to 9,114.55, also marking an all-time high. Both indexes have climbed sharply in recent months, supported by sustained investor enthusiasm for AI-related technology stocks.

U.S. futures traded lower, reflecting cautious sentiment as markets weighed geopolitical developments alongside upcoming inflation data, including the Federal Reserve’s preferred personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index due later this week.

Technology and AI Drive Japan and Korea to New Peaks

In Tokyo, gains were led by technology and semiconductor-linked companies as investors continued to position for long-term AI demand.

SoftBank Group rose 1.9%, while chip equipment maker Tokyo Electron advanced 3.2%.

In Seoul, memory chip producer SK Hynix jumped 5.6%, reinforcing the sector-wide momentum across AI-linked supply chains.

The Nikkei 225 and Kospi have both recorded extraordinary gains over the past six months, rising more than 40% and 120% respectively, underscoring the scale of the technology-driven rally.

Neil Newman, managing director and head of strategy at Astris Advisory Japan, said market conditions remained strong but warned valuations were becoming stretched. “We’re seeing another strong market today,” he noted, adding that the Japanese market is “probably getting a little stretched” given geopolitical risks in the Middle East.

Regional Markets Show Mixed Performance

Elsewhere in Asia, performance was uneven. Hong Kong’s Hong Kong Hang Seng Index slipped 0.6% to 23,785.50, while mainland China’s Shanghai Composite Index gained 1.8% to 4,163.10.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 edged down 0.1% to 8,816.10, while Taiwan’s Taiwan Taiex rose 2.8%. India’s Sensex added 0.4%.

The divergence highlighted investor sensitivity to both global technology momentum and geopolitical risk factors.

Oil Prices Ease on Iran Negotiation Optimism

Energy markets moved lower as diplomatic discussions between the United States and Iran showed early signs of progress.

Brent crude, the international benchmark, declined 1.1% to $79.70 per barrel, easing from higher levels seen during recent geopolitical tensions.

High-level talks held in Switzerland between U.S. and Iranian representatives concluded early Monday, with technical discussions expected to continue through the week. Mediators Qatar and Pakistan described the negotiations as showing “encouraging progress.”

However, uncertainty remains over energy supply routes. Iranian authorities stated the Strait of Hormuz was closed again over the weekend, while U.S. officials indicated that maritime traffic had continued. The conflicting accounts underscore ongoing risks to one of the world’s most critical oil shipping corridors.

ING commodities strategists Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey warned that “moving towards a more permanent deal will be challenging, with very real risks of a flare-up in hostilities.”

Thomas Mathews, head of Markets Asia Pacific at Capital Economics, said energy flows were likely to recover only gradually, noting that attention is now focused on how quickly tanker traffic returns to the region.

Currency and U.S. Economic Focus

In foreign exchange markets, the U.S. dollar strengthened to 161.76 Japanese yen from 161.22 yen, while the euro eased to $1.1445 from $1.1473.

Investors are also awaiting the upcoming release of the U.S. PCE inflation index, a key indicator for Federal Reserve policy expectations, which is expected to shape broader risk sentiment across global markets later in the week.

Tags: Asian Markets, AI Rally, Stock Indices, Nikkei 225, KOSPI, Oil Prices, Iran Talks, Semiconductor Stocks, Global Economy, Currency Markets

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The dominant market angle was cross-market risk sentiment, with investors increasingly positioning around the view that global growth may avoid a deeper shock from elevated crude prices and Middle East shipping risks. Brent crude held near $94.94 per barrel, while U.S. benchmark crude traded around $91.66, levels that remain elevated but have steadied after recent volatility linked to the Strait of Hormuz.

Market Reaction Across Asia

Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 2.4%, outperforming major regional peers as exporters and technology shares tracked overnight gains in the U.S. South Korea’s Kospi added 2.0%, supported by semiconductor and industrial names, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 1.2%. Mainland China’s Shanghai Composite advanced 0.6%, helped by first-quarter GDP growth data showing the economy expanded 5% year-over-year, broadly in line with policy targets.

The move followed another record session on Wall Street, where the S&P 500 closed at 7,022.95, up 0.8%, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.6%. According to Reuters market reporting, the rally was reinforced by strong first-quarter bank earnings, softer inflation concerns and optimism that geopolitical risks may not materially derail near-term corporate performance.

Oil and Macro Sensitivity Remain Central

Despite the positive equity tone, energy markets remained a key variable for Asia-Pacific trading desks. Crude prices have risen sharply since the conflict began earlier this year, raising the risk of imported inflation for major oil-consuming economies including Japan, South Korea and India.

Still, the recent stabilization in oil prices appears to have eased immediate fears of margin pressure for transport, manufacturing and consumer sectors. Market participants are now focusing on whether diplomatic efforts can preserve shipping flows through the Gulf and prevent renewed supply disruptions.

Strategic Outlook for Regional Markets

The broader implication for Asian markets is that investors are shifting from pure geopolitical defense positioning toward a more selective risk-on stance, especially in export-heavy sectors leveraged to U.S. demand and AI-driven technology spending.

However, analysts continue to flag China’s external sector as a vulnerability if slower global trade volumes emerge from prolonged energy-related uncertainty. That leaves oil stability, U.S. earnings momentum and diplomatic developments as the three principal drivers for regional equity direction into the coming sessions.

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Asian stock markets were mostly higher in light trading on Good Friday, following a volatile session on Wall Street. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.3%, largely due to UnitedHealth’s sharp decline after a weaker-than-expected profit report.

With U.S. stock and bond markets closed for the day, Asian investors took the opportunity to react to the latest global developments. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 rose 1% to 34,730.28, while the Kospi in South Korea increased 0.5% to 2,483.42. Taiwan’s Taiex gained 0.3%, bolstered by a strong performance from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), whose quarterly profit matched analysts’ expectations. TSMC reassured investors that it had not seen a significant slowdown in demand due to the ongoing trade tensions between the U.S. and China.

However, TSMC remains cautious, with Chief Financial Officer Wendell Huang noting that there are still risks tied to potential tariff policies. Despite this uncertainty, TSMC’s U.S. stock climbed 0.1% on Thursday.

In contrast, the Shanghai Composite index slipped 0.1% to 3,276.73, while Bangkok’s SET index rose 0.6%. Many other markets were closed for holiday observances ahead of Easter.

On Thursday, the S&P 500 gained a modest 0.1%, though three-quarters of the stocks in the index posted gains. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq composite fell by 0.1%, continuing its subdued performance after a steep drop the previous day.

A key factor weighing on the market was Nvidia, which continued its decline due to news of new export restrictions on chips to China. These restrictions are expected to negatively impact Nvidia’s first-quarter earnings by $5.5 billion. The stock dropped 2.9%, making it one of the largest detractors from the S&P 500.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average experienced a significant drop of 527 points, primarily due to UnitedHealth’s 22.4% plunge, the largest drop since 1998. The insurer revised its financial outlook downward, citing higher-than-expected healthcare usage among its Medicare Advantage customers.

On a more positive note, oil and gas stocks rallied after crude oil prices regained some of the losses they had suffered earlier in the month. Diamondback Energy surged 5.7%, and Halliburton climbed 5.1%. U.S. benchmark crude oil rose by $2.18 to $64.01 per barrel, while Brent crude, the international standard, gained $2.11 to $67.96 per barrel.

The ongoing U.S.-China trade war remains a major source of uncertainty for markets. Economists continue to voice concerns that President Trump’s use of sharp tariff hikes could potentially lead to a recession if these tariffs are sustained.

Despite this, Trump offered a glimmer of hope on Thursday, suggesting that upcoming trade negotiations with other countries might reduce tariff levels. However, his comments about Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell added to the economic uncertainty. Trump criticized Powell for suggesting that tariffs could slow the economy and reignite inflation. The president called the Fed’s actions “too late and wrong,” even stating that Powell’s tenure should end soon.

This rhetoric from the White House presents a dilemma for the Fed: If it cuts interest rates to stimulate borrowing and spending, inflation could rise, which could harm the economy in the long term.

In the U.S., recent economic reports presented a mixed picture. One report showed that fewer workers applied for unemployment benefits last week than economists had expected, suggesting a stable job market. However, another report indicated that manufacturing in the mid-Atlantic region unexpectedly contracted, signaling potential challenges for the U.S. economy.

In Europe, stock indexes saw declines on Thursday, with France’s CAC 40 slipping 0.6% and Germany’s DAX falling 0.5%. This was following the European Central Bank’s decision to cut its main interest rate, a move that typically supports stock prices. However, since investors had anticipated the cut, its impact was muted.

The U.S. dollar weakened slightly, buying 142.37 Japanese yen, down from 132.44 yen on Thursday. The euro rose to $1.1375 from $1.1367.

As markets continue to navigate global trade tensions and economic uncertainty, all eyes will be on future developments, particularly regarding the U.S.-China trade talks and potential adjustments in monetary policy.

Source: AP News – Asian markets are mostly higher as Wall Street is stuck in trade war doldrums

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