Japan, South Korea Stocks Rebound in Early Trade; Kospi Rises Over 3%, SK Hynix Surges Over 8%, Samsung Gains Over 5%

TradingKey - On August 20, Japanese and South Korean stock markets rebounded noticeably in early trading, as the overnight rally in U.S. stocks provided support for Asian markets. The South Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) opened 3.2% higher at 6,680.34 points, before extending gains to 3.71% at 6,711.14 points; Japan's Nikkei 225 Index (JPN225) opened 0.6% higher at 65,732.79 points, before extending gains to 1.25% at 66,145.98 points.

Source: TradingView

South Korean chip stocks became the main driving force for the market, with SK Hynix surging 8.60% to 1,629,000 won (about $1,174); Samsung Electronics rose 5.25% to 260,500 won.

In the Japanese market, Kioxia rose 3.84% to 51,870 yen (about $328); SoftBank Group gained 3.00% to 5,384 yen, as Japanese and South Korean tech stocks extended their overall rally.

The focus of this South Korean stock market recovery came from SK Hynix's shareholder return plan. On August 19, the company announced that its board of directors had approved the buyback and cancellation of company shares worth 40 trillion won (about $28.3 billion), indicating that management considers the current stock price to be below the fair value corresponding to the company's business competitiveness and cash generation capability.

Meanwhile, the three major U.S. stock indices ended a three-day losing streak overnight. The S&P 500 Index rose 0.21% to close at 7,707.98 points; the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.22% to 53,463.05 points; and the Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.16% to 26,331.09 points.