Analysis

TradingKey - On August 7, Japanese and South Korean stock markets opened higher and underwent volatile consolidation. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) opened 1.1% higher at 6,365.07 points. Early gains expanded to as much as 1.85%, hitting 6,412.76 points, but the index subsequently surrendered most of those gains. It was last reported at 6,307.40 points, up 0.17%.

TradingKey - SoftBank Group reported a net profit of 347.33 billion yen (approximately $2.2 billion) for the first fiscal quarter ended June 30, down about 18% year-on-year but well above the market expectation of approximately 166 billion yen.

TradingKey - On August 6, Japanese and South Korean stock markets closed lower, with SK Hynix closing down 10%, Samsung Electronics falling 6%, and Kioxia dropping by more than 10%.

TradingKey - During the Asian session on August 6, South Korean stocks experienced panic selling, with the KOSPI Index plunging as much as 5%, triggering the exchange's "sidecar" mechanism to suspend programmatic sell orders.

TradingKey - On August 6, Japanese and South Korean stock markets opened lower across the board. Following a broad pullback in the U.S. semiconductor sector overnight, Asian chip stocks came under pressure, weighing on major indices in both markets.

TradingKey - According to Reuters, citing sources familiar with the matter, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix have been evaluating etching equipment from Chinese semiconductor equipment manufacturer AMEC in recent years. The primary objective is to secure additional supply chain options for their production bases in China to mitigate risks from potential further tightening of U.S. export controls. However, Samsung denied these reports, stating it has neither tested AMEC's equipment at its Chinese facilities nor included the equipment in its implementation plans.

TradingKey - On August 5, Japanese and South Korean stock markets closed higher across the board. By the market close, the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 239.31 points, or 3.76%, to 6,598.26, extending the rebound from the previous trading session. Japanese stocks also gained strength, with the Nikkei 225 Index closing up 3.66% at 66,300.44.

TradingKey - During the August 5 Asian trading session, SoftBank Group (9984.T) shares surged over 11%, leading gains among Nikkei index components. After the market close on August 4, its core subsidiary SoftBank Corp. (9434.T) released better-than-expected first-quarter results. The high-growth guidance for its AI and cloud businesses, projecting a 30% compound annual growth rate, has become the core driver of the parent company's valuation recovery.

TradingKey - On August 5, Japanese and South Korean stock markets were driven higher by the overnight rally in U.S. tech and semiconductor sectors, with major indices in both regions opening higher and trending upward. SK Hynix rose 7%, Samsung Electronics gained over 4%, SoftBank surged 9%, and Kioxia climbed 7%.

TradingKey - On August 3, Eastern Time, Kioxia officially launched the KIOXIA GP1 series PCIe 6.0 NVMe solid-state drive at the FMS 2026 Flash Memory Summit in California, USA. This is the first product in the GP series of ultra-high IOPS SSDs. Boosted by the news, Kioxia's stock price rose nearly 6% on the day to 52,090 yen (equivalent to 330.4 USD).

TradingKey - On August 4, Japanese and South Korean stock markets closed higher across the board. The KOSPI Index rose 1.62% to close at 6,358.95 points, while the Nikkei 225 Index gained 0.32% to finish at 63,957.53 points.

TradingKey - During the Asian session on August 4, KOSDAQ futures surged more than 6% at one point, triggering the Korea Exchange (KRX) to activate a five-minute trading halt mechanism. As of press time, the KOSDAQ futures index was up 4.58%.

TradingKey - On August 4, major stock indices in Japan and South Korea both opened higher. South Korea's KOSPI index opened up 1.5% before narrowing its gains to approximately 1.24% at 6,334.94 points. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index maintained its upward trend after opening higher, recently rising 0.40% to 64,009.44 points.

TradingKey - During the Asian trading session on August 3, shares of Japanese memory chip giant Kioxia Holdings experienced a rollercoaster ride, falling more than 4% in early trading before staging a V-shaped reversal. The stock surged over 10% intraday and eventually closed up 5.72% at 49,140 yen (approximately $313).

TradingKey - On August 3, Japanese and South Korean stock markets collectively closed lower, as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix both plunged nearly 9%.

TradingKey - British pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca (AZN) is in talks with its U.S. peer Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY) regarding a potential merger. If a deal is reached, the combined market capitalization of the two entities would approach $400 billion, potentially creating one of the world's largest pharmaceutical groups.

TradingKey - During the August 3 Asian trading session, Japanese and South Korean stock markets pulled back again after a sharp rebound last week. The KOSPI continued to weaken after opening lower, with losses widening further to 4.86% at 6,274.74 points. The Nikkei 225 Index also fluctuated downward, falling 1.12% to 63,643.61 points.

TradingKey - Japanese NAND flash manufacturer Kioxia reported its first-quarter fiscal 2026 results on Friday. Driven by demand from AI data centers, the company’s profit saw significant growth but fell slightly short of the market expectation of 1.37 trillion yen. Additionally, its second-quarter operating profit guidance of 1.89 trillion yen was lower than the Bloomberg consensus estimate of 1.95 trillion yen. However, the company expects NAND flash prices to continue rising in the second quarter, indicating that the memory industry's upcycle is likely to extend into the third quarter.

On July 31, Japanese and South Korean stock markets staged a historic rally. South Korea’s KOSPI Index surged 17.91% to close at 6,595.45 points, marking its largest single-day gain since the index's inception. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index rose 4.03% to close at 64,362.02 points, recovering a portion of

TradingKey - During the Asian trading session on July 31, the Nikkei 225 Index opened higher and trended upward, with intraday gains continuing to expand. The index briefly surpassed the 65,000 mark, with intraday gains exceeding 3,000 points. As of press time, the Nikkei 225 Index was trading at 64,572.03, up 4.37%.