Japan and South Korea Stocks Rise After Low Open; Kospi Holds 6,800 Level as Kioxia Surges over 2% to Lead Gains, Samsung and SK Hynix Follow Higher

TradingKey - Nikkei Closes Slightly Lower; KOSPI Opens Lower and Rallies to Reclaim 6,800 Mark as Semiconductor Giants Samsung and SK Hynix Gain, Kioxia Surges Over 2%

During the Asian trading session on September 1, Japanese and South Korean stock markets faced opening pressure driven by weakness in US stocks in early trading. However, intraday buying interest gradually emerged to support a price rebound. South Korean stocks ultimately bucked the trend to close higher, while the broader Japanese market ended the session with a slight decline.

The KOSPI opened lower and rallied, ultimately closing up 0.23% to hold above the 6,800 mark at 6,835.80 points. Both heavyweights closed slightly higher: Samsung Electronics rose 0.38% to finish above the 260,000 level at 261,000 KRW, while SK Hynix performed stronger, closing up 1.14% at 1,693,000 KRW.

KOSPI Index Chart, Source: TradingView

The Nikkei 225 Index moved lower in early trading, dragged down by lower opens in semiconductor and heavyweight stocks, before gradually recovering some ground in the afternoon to close slightly down 0.15% at 66,215.29 points. However, two major heavyweights posted strong gains, with Kioxia surging 2.02% to close at 51,000 JPY and SoftBank rising 1.19% to finish at 5,262 JPY.