South Korea’s Kospi index jumps more than 13% on a surge of chipmaking stocks

South Korea's Kospi index jumped 13.1% to 6,330.59 on Friday, led by a surge in AI-related stocks after a sharp sell-off earlier in the week. Samsung Electronics shares rose 19.3% and SK Hynix soared 22.6%, while Tokyo's Nikkei 225 climbed 4.9% with SoftBank Group up 15.1% and Tokyo Electron up 9.2%.

BANGKOK AP — South Korea's Kospi index jumped more than 13% on Friday, tracking Wall Street gains, as artificial intelligence-related stocks bounced back after losses this week. In early Asian trading, the Kospi rose 13.1% to 6,330.59. Shares of South Korean technology giant Samsung Electronics surged 19.3%, while memory chipmaker SK Hynix soared 22.6%. The Kospi index had plummeted more than 16% on Tuesday and Wednesday on a sell-off of technology stocks in part over worries about an AI bubble and rising intensive competition from chipmaking rivals in China. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 also climbed 4.9% in early Friday trading. Multinational investment holding company and OpenAI-investor SoftBank Group jumped 15.1%, while chip equipment maker Tokyo Electron rose 9.2%. The Associated Press