South Korean Shares Rebound After Steep Sell-Off
The Kospi index saw significant gains, driven by chipmakers SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics, following a three-day rout fueled by concerns over AI investments.
South Korean shares surged on Friday, partially recovering from a three-day sell-off that erased hundreds of billions of dollars from the nation's stock market. The benchmark Kospi index experienced a nearly 17% increase in afternoon trading, with chip manufacturers SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics leading the gains.
This rebound followed positive earnings reports from U.S. technology companies Amazon and Microsoft, which bolstered optimism regarding substantial investments in artificial intelligence (AI). South Korean regulators also introduced measures intended to curb the week's market downturn.
SK Hynix, a key supplier to AI chip designer Nvidia, saw its stock price climb by over 17%, while Samsung's shares rose by 23%. Both companies had experienced considerable stock market declines earlier in the week as the sell-off in AI-related stocks intensified.
Investor apprehension had grown concerning the vast sums, in the hundreds of billions of dollars, being invested in AI by major technology firms. In recent months, South Korea's stock market has shown particular volatility, attracting a large number of retail investors.
The Kospi index, which has a strong weighting in technology stocks, has been subject to multiple trading halts this year under a mechanism known as a circuit breaker, designed to mitigate panic selling. Despite a series of significant drops since reaching a record high in mid-June, the index remains approximately 50% higher than at the end of 2025.