Japan and South Korea Stocks Edge Higher: Kioxia and SK Hynix Surge, Samsung and SoftBank Sluggish

TradingKey - Japanese and South Korean stocks edged higher, with the Nikkei 225 outperforming the KOSPI. Kioxia surged over 8%, SK Hynix rose nearly 6%, while Samsung Electronics and SoftBank traded weakly.

During the Asian trading session on July 9, Japanese and South Korean stock markets closed slightly higher. Among them, the KOSPI index surged nearly 4% in early trading but gradually gave back gains in the afternoon, narrowing its advance to 0.62% to close at 7,291.92 points. The Nikkei 225 opened higher and moved higher, showing a relatively stable trend, rising 1.38% to close at 67,743.80 points.

KOSPI Index Chart, Source: TradingView

In terms of individual stocks, SoftBank fell slightly, while other heavyweight stocks experienced varying degrees of rebound. Among them, Samsung Electronics rose 0.18% to close at 278,000 KRW; SK Hynix surged over 8% in early trading but pulled back in the afternoon to close up 5.3% at 2,186,000 KRW; Kioxia rose 8.33% to close at 77,860 JPY, marking its second consecutive trading day of gains; SoftBank fell 0.1% to 5,757 JPY.

Kioxia Share Price Chart, Source: TradingView

Boosted by the overnight stabilization of the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index from its lows, SK Hynix's US listing receiving a 7x oversubscription, and positive news from Japanese memory giant Kioxia, the Japanese and South Korean broader markets opened higher today. Although geopolitical tensions in the Middle East triggered inflation anxieties and caused a sharp intraday plunge and volatility in Asia-Pacific markets, bulls successfully defended their gains by the close.

However, the real anchor for the market will depend on SK Hynix's debut performance on Nasdaq tomorrow (July 10). If its US ADR premium can successfully widen, it is expected to officially sound the horn for the Asia-Pacific semiconductor sector to return to historic highs in the second half of the year.