Asian stock markets traded mixed on Friday as Wall Street stayed shut for the U.S. Independence Day holiday. A sharp rebound in Korean chipmakers pushed the Kospi up more than 6%, triggering a session halt, while other regional benchmarks posted smaller moves.
A rally in Korean tech stocks drove the standout move across Asia on Friday, with South Korea's Kospi index rebounding 440.25 points, or 5.8%, to 8,088.34. Global markets traded mixed, and U.S. exchanges stayed closed for the Independence Day holiday.
Korean chipmakers lead the rebound
Two index heavyweights drove the move in Seoul. SK Hynix pared early losses to jump around 10%, while Samsung Electronics extended morning gains to soar more than 8%. Their combined weight pushed the Kospi up more than 6% and triggered a trading "sidecar" halt during the session.
The tech rally spread to Hong Kong, where Knowledge Atlas, the Hong Kong-listed firm behind Zhipu, soared nearly 10% and Manycore Tech jumped 8%.
Mixed moves across the region
Japan joined the advance, with the Nikkei 225 regaining 1,010.92 points, or 1.5%, to 69,744.07. Chipmaker Kioxia, down nearly 12% at the open, rose more than 7% in afternoon trade.
Elsewhere the gains were slimmer. Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 295 points, or 1.3%, to 23,350.03, and Australia's ASX climbed 119.92 points, or 1.4%, to 8,744.41. Shanghai's CSI index rose 0.6% to 4,842.17, while Taiwan's Taiex edged up just 0.1% to 46,780.62. Singapore's Straits Times 50 gained 0.5% to 5,244.29 and New Zealand's NZX 50 recovered 0.3% to 13,618.42.
Source: Baystreet.ca
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