Japan, South Korea Stocks Diverge in Early Trade; Nikkei 225 Turns 0.22% Higher, Kospi Drops 0.06%, Kioxia Rises Over 1%

TradingKey - On October 22, Japanese and South Korean stock markets diverged in early trading, with Japanese equities turning around from losses to gains while South Korean equities gradually narrowed their losses. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index opened down 0.13% at 64,539.36 points before rising 0.22% to 64,764.54 points; the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) opened down 1.1% at 5,670.11 points, with losses later narrowing to 0.06% at 5,732.23 points.

Source: TradingView

South Korean semiconductor stocks delivered a mixed performance, with Samsung Electronics rising 0.22% in early trading to 224,000 won (about $169), while SK Hynix fell 0.46% to 1.288 million won. In the Japanese market, Kioxia rose 1.52% in early trading to 13,715 yen (about $87), while SoftBank Group slipped 0.15% to 4,615 yen.

Overnight, U.S. stocks were boosted by strong corporate earnings, with major indices closing higher across the board and AI trading sentiment showing recovery. The S&P 500 Index rose 0.58% to 7,757.17 points, marking its third consecutive trading day of gains; the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.69% to 52,856.09 points, closing at a new high in more than a month; the Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 1.05% to 26,702.86 points, marking its second single-day gain of over 1% this week.