South Korea’s KOSPI was on course for its strongest weekly performance since early June on Friday. The index continued its sharp recovery as technology and semiconductor shares climbed.
Renewed optimism over artificial intelligence demand helped lift sentiment. Softer U.S. inflation data also supported risk appetite across Asian markets.
KOSPI Briefly Tops 7,000
The benchmark index rose 2.3% to 6,967.32 by 06:20 GMT. Earlier in the session, the KOSPI briefly moved above the 7,000 level and gained as much as 3%.
The latest advance also put the index on track to break a seven-week losing streak.
Samsung and SK Hynix Lead Chip Stock Rally
South Korea’s major semiconductor companies were among the strongest performers.
Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, which suffered heavily during the previous month’s technology selloff, led the latest recovery.
Samsung was heading for a weekly gain of more than 18%, while SK Hynix was on course to rise around 12% for the week.
KOSPI Enters Technical Bull Market
The KOSPI has now climbed more than 20% from its July 30 low. As a result, the index has entered what is commonly considered a technical bull market.
The recovery follows a steep selloff in July. Investors had become increasingly concerned about the scale of AI-related investment, while the forced unwinding of leveraged positions added further pressure to South Korean stocks.
Softer U.S. Inflation Supports Sentiment
Investor confidence also improved after the latest U.S. inflation data eased concerns about an imminent Federal Reserve interest rate increase.
Combined with the rebound in semiconductor shares and renewed enthusiasm around AI demand, the inflation figures helped support the KOSPI’s strongest weekly performance in more than two months.
