KOSPI jumps 2% as Nikkei rises: why investors are looking past the BoJ hike

The Nikkei 225 and KOSPI advanced on Friday as falling oil prices and easing US Treasury yields revived demand for Asian technology shares, while investors absorbed another step towards tighter monetary policy after the Bank of Japan raised rates to a 31-year high. South Korea's KOSPI climbed about 2%, outperforming the region as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix rallied and foreign investors returned to the market.

Invezz • Sep 18, 2026

EWY: The Bubble Faded, But Korea Still Needs New Buyers

The Korean Stock Market (KOSPI) experienced extreme volatility, with a 90% rally from last year's bottom followed by sharp corrections. Despite turbulent price swings, corporate earnings remain resilient, memory cycle strength persists, and governance reforms are accelerating. Visible deleveraging has occurred in leveraged ETFs, but retail risk appetite is migrating to structured products like autocallable ETFs.

Seeking Alpha • Sep 18, 2026

SK Hynix, Intel May Make Memories in Ohio: These ETFs Are Along for the Ride

SK Hynix Inc.'s (NASDAQ:SKHY) possible U.S. manufacturing expansion is putting a fresh spotlight on the memory-chip trade — a theme that has already attracted billions of dollars into ETFs this year.

Benzinga • Sep 16, 2026

KOSPI vs Nikkei: Asia's AI trade fractures ahead of Fed and BOJ decisions

Asian stocks diverged on Tuesday as South Korea's KOSPI struggled to shake off pressure on semiconductor shares while Japan's Nikkei 225 recovered, leaving the region's two most AI-sensitive markets moving in opposite directions ahead of key US and Japanese rate decisions. The KOSPI fell as much as 0.76% in early Seoul trading before paring most of the decline, extending a difficult stretch after Monday's sharp technology sell-off.

Invezz • Sep 15, 2026

Canada Wholesale Sales Rose in July

Wholesale sales rose 0.3% from the month before to a seasonally adjusted 93.09 billion Canadian dollars, the equivalent of US$66.96 billion, Statistics Canada said.

WSJ • Sep 15, 2026

EWY: 40 Points Ahead Of SOXX, But There's A Catch

iShares MSCI South Korea ETF (EWY) is up 148% YoY, driven by heavy concentration in Samsung and SK hynix, both benefiting from strong AI memory demand. Nearly half of EWY is exposed to two companies, making the ETF highly sensitive to the memory cycle and AI infrastructure spending trends. I rate EWY a Hold, as further upside depends on continued tight HBM supply and robust Korean exports, but risk/reward is less compelling after the rally.

Seeking Alpha • Sep 13, 2026

Oil nears $110, yields near 5%: can KOSPI and Nikkei avoid a deeper rout?

South Korea's KOSPI and Japan's Nikkei 225 led a broad Asian selloff on Friday as oil surged above $108 a barrel and US bond yields moved dangerously close to 5%, reviving concerns that inflation could force central banks to tighten further. The KOSPI dropped more than 2.5%, extending Thursday's weakness, while the Nikkei 225 tumbled about 2.8%.

Invezz • Sep 11, 2026

KOSPI loses 7,000 in 24 hours as oil and yields hammer Korean stocks

South Korean stocks fell sharply on Thursday as Brent crude held above $100 a barrel, pushing the KOSPI back below the 7,000 mark just a day after it reclaimed the level for the first time in more than a month. The benchmark was down 1.28% at 6,961.23 by late morning in Seoul.

Invezz • Sep 10, 2026

Bank of Korea Warns of Destabilizing Impact of High-Risk AI Trades

A surge of investment in leveraged exchange-traded funds generated significant volatility in the domestic stock market, the Bank of Korea said.

WSJ • Sep 10, 2026

KOSPI rockets above 7,000 as AI stocks overpower yen and oil fears

South Korea's KOSPI outperformed Asian markets on Wednesday while Japan's Nikkei 225 recovered from the previous session's selloff, as renewed strength in semiconductor and AI-related shares offset concerns over oil approaching $100 a barrel. The KOSPI rose 1.67% to 7,070.94 by late morning, reclaiming the 7,000 mark as Samsung Electronics gained 1.48% and SK Hynix jumped 4.85%.

Invezz • Sep 9, 2026