Japan and South Korea Stocks Surge at Open. SoftBank Leads With Over 4% Gain as Kioxia, Samsung, and SK Hynix Rally Together.

TradingKey - Japanese and South Korean stocks opened higher, with the Nikkei 225 index nearing its previous high, led by SoftBank's gain of over 4%, while Kioxia, Samsung Electronics, and SK Hynix followed suit.

During the Asian trading session on July 1, both Japanese and South Korean stock markets opened higher, but their intraday paths diverged. The Nikkei 225 index opened higher and continued to climb, rising 2.42% to approach the 72,000-point mark, temporarily trading at 71,759.29 points. Meanwhile, South Korea's KOSPI index opened higher but pared gains, rising 0.85% to temporarily trade at 8,548.64 points. Nikkei 225 Index Chart, Source: TradingView

In terms of individual stocks, heavyweight shares continued to rebound. Kioxia rose 2.31%, decisively breaking through the 90,000 yen threshold to temporarily trade at 91,750 yen; SoftBank climbed 4.08%, surpassing the 6,000 yen level to temporarily trade at 6,206 yen; SK Hynix gained 2.58% to temporarily trade at 2,716,000 won; and Samsung Electronics rose 1.2% to temporarily trade at 338,000 won. SoftBank Stock Price Chart, Source: TradingView

The previous night (June 30), the three major US stock indexes rose in unison, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average setting a new historic high. In particular, the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index performed strongly, driving a recovery in global tech and chip stocks and injecting strong bullish sentiment into the Asia-Pacific markets. In addition, the USD/JPY exchange rate has recently hovered near historic lows around 162. The weak yen has significantly boosted the overseas profit outlook for major Japanese multinational exporters, serving as an important catalyst for the Nikkei index's surge.