South Korea stocks rebounded on Friday as large tech capex plans rekindled AI-driven buying. The benchmark KOSPI rose as much as 14% intraday, its largest single-day intraday gain on record. SK Hynix surged up to 28% after SK Group chairman Choi Tae-won made an unusual direct share purchase; Samsung Electronics climbed as much as 26%. The KOSPI had fallen 17% over the prior three sessions amid concerns about rising leverage at major global tech firms. The AI-led rally, which accelerated after le

2026-07-31

South Korea stocks rebounded on Friday as large tech capex plans rekindled AI-driven buying. The benchmark KOSPI rose as much as 14% intraday, its largest single-day intraday gain on record. SK Hynix surged up to 28% after SK Group chairman Choi Tae-won made an unusual direct share purchase; Samsung Electronics climbed as much as 26%. The KOSPI had fallen 17% over the prior three sessions amid concerns about rising leverage at major global tech firms. The AI-led rally, which accelerated after leveraged products launched in May, has become highly volatile. NH Investment & Securities head of Korea cash equities Shawn Oh said recent AI tech sell-offs driven by deleveraging, risk reduction, liquidations and other liquidity factors may be stabilizing. Japan’s Nikkei 225 also gained around 4% in early trade, breaking above 64,000.