Japan, South Korea Stocks Gain in Early Trading; Kospi Rises Over 2%, SK Hynix Gains 6%, Kioxia Surges 7%

TradingKey - On August 14, Japanese and South Korean stock markets extended their strong performance in early trading. The South Korean Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 2.67% early in the session to 6,995.14 points, approaching the 7,000-point mark, as investors focus on whether KOSPI can achieve a fifth consecutive session of gains; the Nikkei 225 Index (JPN225) opened higher and expanded its gain to 1.39% at 69,256.31 points.

Source: TradingView

Semiconductor and memory chip stocks continued to lead gains. SK Hynix rose 6.03% in early trading to 1,689,000 won (about $1,192); Samsung Electronics rose 2.05% to 273,500 won.

In the Japanese market, Kioxia jumped 7.20% to 55,530 yen (about $348); SoftBank Group rose 5.33% to 5,872 yen, as Japanese and South Korean tech stocks overall extended their previous strong momentum.

An overnight rally in U.S. stocks served as a key driver pushing Asian markets higher. The U.S. Producer Price Index (PPI) for July was unexpectedly flat month-on-month, significantly below market expectations of a 0.2% increase. Coupled with the previously released moderate July CPI data, market concerns over reaccelerating U.S. inflation eased further.

All three major U.S. stock indexes rose on Thursday. The S&P 500 Index climbed 0.65% to 7,798.99 points, setting another record closing high; the Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.81% to 26,803.03 points; the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.13% to 53,839.99 points.

Memory chip stocks performed particularly well, with SanDisk (SNDK) surging 13.67%, SK Hynix (SKHY) rising 7.29%, and Micron Technology (MU) gaining 4.23%.