AI Investment Boom Boosts Japan and South Korea Stocks: KOSPI Rises Over 4%, SK Hynix Rises Nearly 5%, SoftBank, Samsung Rise Nearly 4%
During the Asian trading session on July 23, Japanese and South Korean markets rebounded, led by major tech stocks. The KOSPI surged 4.40%, triggering a temporary program buying halt due to volatility, while the Nikkei 225 rose 0.46%. This rally was primarily driven by Alphabet’s announcement of significantly increased AI infrastructure investment, bolstering expectations for semiconductor demand. While SK Hynix and Samsung saw substantial gains, Kioxia’s performance remained mixed. Future market trajectory depends on the realization of US tech giants' capital expenditure plans and the sustained transmission of AI investment growth to the broader semiconductor supply chain.
TradingKey - In the Asian trading session on July 23, Japanese and South Korean stock markets extended their rebound momentum, with SK Hynix, Samsung, and SoftBank rising 3%-5%.
The South Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed up 4.40% at 7,096.82 points, rising for the third consecutive trading day.
Source: TradingView
As capital continued to flow back into the technology sector, the South Korean stock market rose more than 4.5% intraday. The Korea Exchange also briefly triggered the KOSDAQ program buying temporary trading halt mechanism, suspending related trading for 5 minutes to manage volatility from the rapid market rise.
Samsung Electronics closed up 3.65% at 270,000 won (approximately $194.8); SK Hynix rose 4.86% to close at 1,919,000 won.
In the Japanese market, the Nikkei 225 Index rose 0.46% to close at 66,422.60 points.
SoftBank Group rose 3.77% to close at 5,918 yen (approximately $36.3); Kioxia, however, opened higher but moved lower, rising over 3% in early trading before giving back all gains in late trading to close down 3.72% at 61,880 yen.
Asian chip stocks strengthened collectively, primarily boosted by Google's parent company Alphabet ( GOOGL) further ramping up its AI investments. The company recently stated that its capital expenditures in 2026 will reach up to $200 billion to continue expanding its artificial intelligence computing power infrastructure, once again igniting market optimism about the expansion of demand across the AI industry chain.
As an important supplier to Google, SK Hynix rose up to 6.5% intraday, with the market expecting its High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) demand to continue to benefit.
Following this round of gains, the market will remain focused on whether U.S. tech giants' upcoming earnings reports and capital expenditure plans can deliver, and whether the AI infrastructure investment boom can continue to transmit to the semiconductor industry chain, providing new upward momentum for Asian tech stocks.
This content was translated using AI and reviewed for clarity. It is for informational purposes only.
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