- KOSPI rose 0.3% to close at 5,550.30 after falling to an intraday low of 5,305.98.
- SK Hynix rose 4.42% to 1.28 million won after halting its Solidigm US IPO review.
- Nikkei fell 0.3% to 62,693.16 while Hang Seng rose 0.8% and Shanghai gained 0.9%.
Asian stocks ended mixed on Friday as South Korea’s KOSPI rebounded from an intraday loss to close 0.3% higher. SK Hynix led the recovery with a 4.42% gain, while Japan’s Nikkei slipped 0.3%. Hong Kong and Shanghai stocks advanced, despite an overnight sell-off in US technology and semiconductor shares.
Closing Levels
- Nikkei 225: fell 0.3% to 62,693.16. Decliners outnumbered gainers 2,336 to 1,165 on the Tokyo exchange, and the Nikkei Volatility Index rose 16.6% to 35.97.
- KOSPI: rose 0.3% to 5,550.30.
- KOSDAQ: fell 1.62% to 751.69, with every sector lower.
- Hang Seng: gained 0.8% to 23,123.86.
- Shanghai Composite: added 0.9% to 3,690.48.
Seoul’s Reversal
The KOSPI opened at 5,403.17 and fell to an intraday low of 5,305.98 before recovering steadily through the session. It climbed to 5,550.30 by the close, gaining 0.3% from Thursday’s closing level of 5,533.77.
The trigger for the early slide was Wall Street. The Nasdaq fell 2.6%, and the S&P 500 fell 1.21% overnight, while the Dow edged up 0.02%. Micron dropped 6.26%, Nvidia 4.4% and Intel 8.04%, and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell more than 6%. Experts tied the selling to concerns over Meta’s weaker cash flow and the cost of its large AI investments.
SK Hynix Leads the Recovery
SK Hynix fell more than 5% early, then closed up 4.42% at 1.28 million won. Before the market opened, it said it had halted its review of a US listing for Solidigm, the NAND flash unit it bought from Intel in 2021, ending talk of a duplicate listing that investors feared would dilute value for existing shareholders. Samsung Electronics rose 0.47% to 215,500 won and SK Square gained 3.20%.
On the KOSDAQ, foreigners sold a net 44 billion won and institutions sold 24.7 billion won, while individuals bought 63 billion won. The won strengthened to 1,324.6 per dollar.
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Oil, Gold and the Yen
Brent crude rose about 1.1% to $114.38 a barrel, and US crude gained 1.3% to $100.79. Gold futures fell 0.8% to $4,027.77 an ounce. The dollar traded near 157.08 yen.
Bitcoin
Bitcoin traded near $81,494 at the time of writing. An analyst argued that oil is a headwind for the token and added that Bitcoin has often lost momentum when Brent settles into a strong uptrend above its annual average, and has often recovered when crude falls sharply.
Asian markets ended mixed as the KOSPI recovered from steep early losses. However, rising oil prices and concerns over AI spending continue to weigh on market sentiment, with investors also watching Bitcoin for signs of further weakness.
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Related: Bitcoin Drops Below $81,000 as AI Sell-Off and Oil Fears Hit Crypto Markets
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