Kospi Surges 4.5 Percent to 5,806 as Chip Stocks Lead an Asia Wide Rebound

South Korea's Kospi index surged on Wednesday morning, climbing 250.06 points, or 4.50 percent, to 5,806.32 by 11 a.m. in Seoul, according to the Korea Exchange figures reported by Aju Press. The index had opened at 5,666.34, up 2.05 percent, and traded as high as 5,816.43. It was a sharp turn from Tuesday, when the Kospi fell 3.73 percent as worries over the returns on huge AI investments and financing pressure on data center operators hit chip stocks.

The rise was strong enough to trigger a buying sidecar in Seoul. At 10:51 a.m., after Kospi 200 futures rose 5.22 percent and held that level for a minute, the exchange suspended program buying orders for five minutes, a step it takes when futures move too fast in one direction.

Chip giants lead the way back

Samsung Electronics traded at 227,000 won at 11 a.m., up 7.33 percent, and SK Hynix rose 7.97 percent to 1,319,000 won. Foreign investors bought a net 319.3 billion won of shares by that point, and institutions bought a net 181.9 billion won, while individual investors sold a net 986.5 billion won.

The rebound had support from research as well as bargain hunting. Nomura Securities kept a bullish view of the global memory industry, arguing that fears over AI investment returns and China's technology progress had been overdone. The brokerage expects global memory demand to stay ahead of supply through at least 2028, helped by new data center capacity rising from 22.3 gigawatts this year to 31.5 gigawatts in 2027.

The rest of Asia followed

Japan's Nikkei 225 climbed 1.3 percent, and the MSCI index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan rose 1.5 percent in early trade, Reuters reported. In India, the Sensex was up 672 points at 74,525 at 9:24 a.m. local time, and the Nifty 50 added 180 points to 23,075, with the Sensex touching an intraday high gain of 695 points, Upstox reported.

The tone was set overnight on Wall Street, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.02 percent, the S and P 500 gained 0.28 percent, and the Nasdaq slipped 0.02 percent on Tuesday. With 13 percent of S and P 500 companies having reported results, 86 percent have beaten earnings estimates, according to LSEG data cited by Reuters. Bonds steadied, and oil prices slipped back from some of their recent highs.

Wednesday's trade does not settle the argument that drove Tuesday's fall, about whether the money pouring into AI data centers will earn its keep. It shows, for one morning at least, that buyers were ready to step in at lower prices, and that Seoul's chip giants still set the mood for the region.