TradingKey - KOSPI Surges 4.61% to Approach 7,000 Points, Nikkei Breaks 66,000 Points, SoftBank Soars Over 11%, Kioxia, Samsung, and SK Hynix Jump 5%-10%.
During Asian trading hours on September 7, Japanese and South Korean stock markets both rallied strongly, mainly driven by a powerful surge in AI concept and semiconductor giant sectors. Among them, the KOSPI continued to climb after opening and surged further late in the session, closing up 4.61% to approach the 7,000 mark at 6,995.4 points. Both major heavyweight stocks surged, with Samsung Electronics rising 5.68% to close at 270,000 KRW, while SK Hynix gained 8.26% to close at 1,783,000 KRW.
KOSPI index chart, Source: TradingView
The Nikkei 225 index also trended higher throughout the day, ultimately closing up 2.12% at 66,399.79 points. Both major heavyweight stocks rallied significantly, with Kioxia gaining 9.31% to close at 59,530 JPY, and SoftBank surging 11.22% to close at 6,217 JPY.
U.S. August nonfarm payroll data released last Friday beat expectations. While raising market expectations for Federal Reserve rate hikes, it also significantly eased fears of a recession in the world's largest economy, boosting risk appetite. Although the three major U.S. stock indices dropped across the board on the day the nonfarm payroll data was released, memory and chip stocks celebrated a collective rally, prompting Japanese and South Korean stock markets to follow suit and strengthen today.
In the short term, the profit-making effect and liquidity support for tech stocks remain intact, but the medium-to-short-term direction will depend on the interplay between macroeconomic logic and risks. Key events drawing close attention include the U.S. August CPI data to be released this Friday, as well as the monetary policy decisions by the Bank of Japan (BOJ) and the Federal Reserve (Fed) in mid-September.