Nvidia Earnings Ignite Asian Stock Markets. South Korea’s Kospi Index Surges Over 8%, OpenAI IPO Plan Adds to AI Frenzy

Tradingkey - On May 21, Nvidia's stellar earnings results were released as expected. OpenAI's plan to file for an IPO in the coming weeks has completely ignited market enthusiasm for chasing AI gains, driving a broad recovery across Asia-Pacific stock markets. Key stocks in Nvidia's supply chain, such as Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, TSMC, and Advantest, rose in response and showed strength across the board.

Geopolitical tensions have also eased. According to AXIOS, the U.S. and Iran are planning to initiate 30-day negotiations. U.S. sources stated that Trump told Netanyahu that mediators are drafting a "letter of intent" to be signed by the U.S. and Iran to formally end the war and launch a 30-day negotiation period on issues such as Iran's nuclear program and the opening of the Strait of Hormuz.

KOSPI (Korea Composite Stock Price Index) Opened high today and continued to climb, closing up 8.42% at 7,815.62 points. The closing price was near the day's high (7,819.23 points), erasing all losses since this Monday (May 18).

Nomura Securities raised its 2026 target for the KOSPI to 11,000 points, implying a 40% upside from today's closing price.

The bank's analysts stated that AI-driven earnings, including memory, power equipment, energy storage systems, and nuclear energy, will deliver sustainable Return on Equity (ROE) over the next five years. The shift by listed companies toward higher capital efficiency, shareholder returns, and optimal leverage will support valuation growth based on Price-to-Earnings (P/E) and Price-to-Book (P/B) ratios. Proactive management and shareholder activism, along with government enforcement measures to improve ROE disclosure and corporate governance, will also help lift the KOSPI.

Regarding heavyweight stocks, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix saw stellar performances today. Samsung Electronics rose 8.51% to 299,500 KRW; SK Hynix rose 11.17% to 1.94 million KRW.

Following news of the emergency suspension of a massive strike at Samsung, market concerns over global chip supply chain disruptions cooled significantly. This, combined with the positive catalyst from Nvidia's overnight expectation-beating earnings, boosted overall sentiment in the semiconductor sector.

It is reported that both Samsung and SK Hynix are major memory suppliers for Nvidia. Today's gains nearly recovered all losses from the past two weeks.

Nikkei 225 Surged to a gain of approximately 3% in early trading, then fluctuated before the close. As of the closing bell, it stood at 61,684.14 points, an increase of 3.14%.

ING economist Min Joo Kang stated that Japan's stronger-than-expected exports and steady machinery orders provided support for a Bank of Japan (BoJ) rate hike in June. The data suggest the Japanese economy remains resilient despite recent energy supply disruptions, while hawkish remarks from BoJ policy member Junko Koeda have heightened tightening expectations. ING expects the BoJ to raise rates by 25 basis points in June, citing strong activity data, stubborn inflationary pressures, and growing divergence within the policy board. Furthermore, following recent bond market sell-offs, the BoJ is expected to slow the pace of its Japanese Government Bond (JGB) tapering, though long-term Japanese yields are still likely to trend higher.

Among heavyweight stocks, SoftBank rose 19.85%, Kioxia rose 7.9%, and Advantest rose 4.37%; on the downside, Fast Retailing fell 1.93% and Sony dropped 1.44%.

In terms of news, OpenAI plans to file for an IPO today. On the same day, SB Energy, the second company invested in by SoftBank that develops energy infrastructure for data centers, announced it would confidentially file a U.S. IPO registration statement. SoftBank has close capital ties with OpenAI, holding approximately a 13% stake and having invested a cumulative total of approximately $64.6 billion through the Vision Fund. Sources revealed that OpenAI plans to file for an IPO in the coming weeks, aiming for a listing this autumn. Additionally, Advantest's main business is providing chip testing equipment for Nvidia.

Taiwan Weighted Index Closed up 3.37% at 41,368.21 points. TSMC closed up 2.06% at 2,230 TWD.

AMD announced today the mass production of its next-generation EPYC processor, "Venice," using TSMC's 2nm process. It is reported that mass production for this CPU has officially begun. The chip utilizes TSMC's most advanced 2nm process technology and is the industry's first 2nm product to enter mass production in the High-Performance Computing (HPC) sector. Additionally, AMD plans to extend the 2nm process for its data center CPUs to the subsequent new product, "Verano."