KOSPI Snaps Back 15% as Asia’s AI Chip Rally Returns

South Korea’s KOSPI index surged by double digits on Friday morning. The rebound follows back-to-back circuit breakers on Tuesday and Wednesday, as well as sharp monthly losses.

Stronger-than-expected cloud results from Microsoft and Amazon revived confidence in AI spending, sparking a chip rally across Seoul and Tokyo.

KOSPI Rebound Triggers Buy-Side Sidecar in Seoul

According to Google Finance, KOSPI stood at 6,440.14, up 15.13% at press time. The index gained 846.58 points from Thursday’s close of 5,593.56 by 10:30 a.m. local time.

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A buy-side sidecar was triggered at 9:06 a.m., suspending program trading for five minutes. The KOSDAQ saw a similar curb after touching an intraday high of 693.81. At press time, it was up by 8.91%.

The rally was carried by index heavyweights. SK Hynix jumped 27.69% to 1,688,000 won, while Samsung Electronics climbed 21.74% to 252,000 won. 

The bounce comes after days of turmoil. Circuit breakers halted both markets on July 28 and 29, forcing an emergency government meeting after 864.5 trillion won evaporated in two sessions.

Before this session, July ranked as the market’s worst crash ever, with the KOSPI down over 33% for the month.

US Cloud Earnings Reignite the AI Trade

The catalyst came from Wall Street overnight. Microsoft rallied 16% Thursday after Azure growth beat forecasts, and Amazon jumped over 9% in extended trading on stronger-than-expected second-quarter revenue.

The Nasdaq climbed 2.78%, and the S&P 500 added 1.66%. Meanwhile, the Philadelphia semiconductor index soared 8.2%, and the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) gained more than 8%.

The rally spilled into Tokyo. Advantest surged 17.92%, and Tokyo Electron climbed 9.67%. SoftBank Group rose 15.12%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 5.35%, and the broader Topix gained 2.32%.

Whether the rebound holds is the next test. Even after Friday’s surge, the KOSPI trades roughly 31% below its June record of 9,385.59.

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