(July 10): South Korean stocks rose more than 2% on Friday, but still ended the week lower as investors balanced renewed enthusiasm for AI with concerns about earnings sustainability and product-related risks.
Benchmark Kospi closed 2.5% higher after triggering sidecar trading restrictions for the third time this week, gaining as much as 5.7%, while the broader MSCI Emerging Markets Asia index rose 1%.
The Kospi is down 7.6% for the week and has fallen 18% since hitting a record high in mid-June. Among the leading stocks, chipmaker Samsung Electronics rose 2.52% on Friday, while peer SK Hynix fell 0.27%.
SK Hynix on Thursday priced its American Depositary Receipts at US$149 to raise about US$26.5 billion (RM107.7 billion), according to a US regulatory filing, highlighting strong investor appetite for the company, which is a central cog in the AI supply chain.
“SK Hynix has managed to shake off a volatile few weeks for tech/AI (and broader U.S. equities) leading up to this listing, suggesting that AI optimism is holding up, if not deep-seated,” said Vishnu Varasan, head of economics and strategy at Mizuho Bank.
Barasan said the resurgence of AI optimism also ignores the breakdown in the US-Iran ceasefire, which threatens to reignite the Iran-Hormuz crisis.
New attacks in the Middle East have put oil prices, inflation and global interest rates back in the spotlight, but investors are putting energy supply concerns aside and focusing on semiconductor and AI companies.
In Southeast Asia, stock prices in Thailand and the Philippines, net oil importers, rose 0.6% and 1%, respectively.
Singapore’s benchmark stock index rose as much as 0.7%, hitting a record high for the sixth day in a row, led by major financial institutions. The benchmark is on track to end the week up 4%, its highest level since mid-April last year.
Malaysian stocks rose 1% to a three-week high, while the ringgit fell to 4.063 ringgit to the dollar.
The country’s central bank on Thursday kept its policy interest rate unchanged at 2.75% for the sixth straight session, citing moderate inflation and sustained economic growth.
Among other currencies in the region, the Thai baht, Singapore dollar and Indonesian rupiah edged higher, while the South Korean won gained about 0.4%. The Philippine peso rose 0.2%.
South Korea’s Vice-Minister of Finance Moon Ji-sung said supply and demand dynamics in the local currency market are expected to change in the second half of 2026, with exporters’ dollar holdings expected to generate inflows via foreign exchange futures.
The Bank of Korea’s interest rate decision is scheduled for next Thursday. Analysts at Standard Chartered said the central bank is expected to raise the benchmark interest rate to 2.75%.
Uploaded by Magessan Varatharaja
