Japan, South Korea Stocks Close Strongly Higher; KOSPI Surges Over 1.6%, Nikkei Reclaims 65,000 as SoftBank Soars 12%

TradingKey - Japanese and South Korean stocks close strongly higher! Samsung and SK Hynix push KOSPI up nearly 2%, Nikkei reclaims 65,000 points, SoftBank surges 12%, Kioxia jumps over 5%.

During the Asian trading session on September 4, dovish signals from the Federal Reserve triggered a market rebound, with both Japanese and South Korean stocks bouncing back. However, intraday performance showed significant divergence: Japanese stocks maintained high-level oscillations throughout the day, driven by a strong recovery in semiconductor supply chain and export stocks, and closed significantly higher. Meanwhile, South Korean stocks saw their gains narrow as benchmark chip stocks faced profit-taking and net foreign selling after opening higher.

Among them, the KOSPI maintained an upward rebound trend during intraday trading, but pulled back sharply late in the session, ultimately closing up 1.64% at 6,687.21 points. Nevertheless, both heavyweights closed higher, with Samsung Electronics rising 2.2% to close at 255,500 KRW, and SK Hynix gaining 3.2% to close above the 1.6 million mark at 1,647,000 KRW.

KOSPI Index Chart, Source: TradingView

The Nikkei 225 Index continued to strengthen, ultimately closing up 1.26% to reclaim the 65,000 mark at 65,020.89 points. Both heavyweights surged, with Kioxia rising 5.4% to close at 54,460 JPY, and SoftBank jumping 11.78% to close at 5,590 JPY.

After Federal Reserve Governor Waller delivered dovish remarks, market concerns over Fed policy tightening eased, sending the US Dollar Index and US Treasury yields lower, which significantly boosted appetite for Asian risk assets. In addition, overnight gains in US AI and chip concept stocks lifted Asian semiconductor supply chain stocks, serving as the primary driver pushing up both countries' major indexes.