Japan and South Korea Stocks Rally as KOSPI Rises Over 4%, Nikkei 225 Gains 2%; SK Hynix, Kioxia, SoftBank Surge

TradingKey - On August 5, boosted by the overnight surge in US stocks, major stock indices in Japan and South Korea opened higher and continued to climb. SK Hynix rose 7%, Samsung Electronics gained over 4%, SoftBank surged 9%, and Kioxia jumped 7%.

South Korea's Kospi Index (KOSPI) opened 3.85% higher, with gains subsequently expanding to 4.51%, temporarily trading at 6,645.71 points; Japan's Nikkei 225 Index also delivered a strong performance, rising 2.66% to 65,657.03 points after opening 0.95% higher and continuing to climb.

Source: TradingView

SK Hynix rose 7.10% to 1,689,000 won (approximately $1,184); Samsung Electronics climbed 4.17% to 250,000 won, as the two heavyweight stocks continued to drive the Kospi higher.

Japanese tech stocks also rebounded, with Kioxia rising 7.03% to 55,750 yen (approximately $354), and SoftBank Group surging 9.22% to 5,710 yen.

In terms of news, the memory industry saw fresh progress. On August 4, SK Hynix and SanDisk jointly released the first set of High Bandwidth Flash (HBF) standard specifications based on the Open Compute Project (OCP), establishing a unified standard for next-generation AI servers and high-performance computing memory ecosystems.

On the same day, Kioxia and SanDisk also announced the launch of a new generation of quad-level cell (QLC) 3D NAND flash memory technology. Compared to the eighth-generation products of both parties, the bit density is increased by up to approximately 60%, further strengthening market expectations for memory industry upgrades.

Meanwhile, the sharp rebound in overnight US stocks also provided support for Asian tech stocks. On Tuesday Eastern Time, both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 Index closed at record highs, while the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 2.59%.

The semiconductor and memory sectors strengthened collectively, with Arm ( ARM) surging over 17%, Intel ( INTC ), SanDisk ( SNDK) rising over 10%, SK Hynix ( SKHY) climbing over 8%, Micron Technology ( MU) gaining 7.62%. The comprehensive recovery of the AI and memory industry chains boosted risk appetite for Asian tech stocks, driving chip stocks in Japan and South Korea to extend their rebound.