South Korea's benchmark Kospi index surged over 5% in on Thursday, extending a global tech stock rebound after a sell-off rattled markets around the world earlier this week.
The rally was led by heavyweight chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, as investors returned to battered semiconductor stocks after two days of volatility.
Samsung Electronics shares closed 5.3% higher, while SK Hynix ended 13% up. The gains came after SK Hynix filed for a blockbuster Nasdaq listing that could raise as much as 45.45 trillion won, or $29.4 billion.
Optimism from the Kospi spread to US premarket trading, with futures for the tech-focused Nasdaq index pointing to a more than 2% gain at the open.
Sentiment was buoyed after memory-chip maker Micron topped Wall Street's revenue estimates and issued upbeat guidance, reinforcing optimism about AI-related demand. Micron's stock jumped 16% in premarket trading, pulling other chipmakers higher. Qualcomm's stock was 10% higher in premarket, while AMD was up 4%.
Other markets in Asia were broadly higher as well, with Japan's Nikkei closing 4.6% higher and China's CSI 300 gaining nearly 2%. European indexes were also up in morning trade, though gains were more muted.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell to a one-year low after Anthropic accused Chinese tech giant Alibaba of exploiting its advanced AI models.
Thursday's gains in the Kospi followed a 3.3% rebound on Wednesday, after the benchmark recovered from Tuesday's nearly 10% plunge, its steepest one-day decline in months.
The sell-off earlier this week spilled into global markets, dragging down US semiconductor stocks as investors questioned lofty valuations across the AI trade and rotated into more defensive sectors.
South Korea has been one of the world's best-performing stock markets this year, fueled by a surge in semiconductor and AI-related shares. The strong rally has left the market more susceptible to sharp pullbacks.
Despite the violent swings, analysts remain constructive on long-term AI-related chip demand, viewing the recent volatility as a correction after an extraordinary rally rather than the end of the sector's run.
The pullback earlier this week "seems more like a cooldown phase during a bull run than a genuine downturn," according to a Wednesday note from KB Securities analyst Euntaek Lee.
Still, Lee warned that volatility could persist as the market remains vulnerable to further corrections after its extended rally. He said current conditions do not point to a bubble.
