Seoul's KOSPI turns an opening fall of more than 3% into a 1.76% gain, as Bloomberg says financing costs, not chip demand, now drive Asia's AI hardware stocks

Seoul's main index, the KOSPI, opened more than 3% lower on Monday 19 October and then turned round to close at 5,768.01, up 1.76%, the Korea Times and MoneyToday reported, MoneyToday citing Korea Exchange data. Samsung Electronics gained 1.16% to 218,000 won and SK hynix 0.39% to 1,277,000 won, the Korea Times reported. Institutional investors bought a provisional net 574.6bn won of KOSPI shares, while foreign investors sold a net 36.4bn won, MoneyToday reported.

The Korea Times put the rebound down to bargain-hunting in battery and car shares, and said chip stocks were held back after Friday's AI sell-off on Wall Street, when credit worries over CoreWeave returned.

The day before, Bloomberg reported that a Goldman Sachs basket of Asian AI hardware stocks fell 11% last week, its steepest drop since mid-July, with Samsung Electro-Mechanics down 23% (Bloomberg, via the Taipei Times). Bloomberg's argument is that whether hyperscalers and neoclouds can keep financing the build-out has become the question for these stocks, more than demand for chips. “Financing costs are like gravity for the AI boom,” Jian Shi Cortesi, a fund manager at GAM Investment Management, told Bloomberg.

The Switchboard covered the KOSPI's falls on 12 and 13 October and its 7.57% drop and circuit breaker on 16 October; Monday is the first rebound since. Japan's Nikkei close was found in only one outlet and is left out.

• Reported The KOSPI closed at 5,768.01, up 1.76%, after opening more than 3% lower, the Korea Times reported. The Korea Times
• Reported Institutions bought a provisional net 574.6bn won of KOSPI shares and foreigners sold a net 36.4bn won, MoneyToday reported from Korea Exchange data. MoneyToday
• Reported Samsung Electronics rose 1.16% to 218,000 won and SK hynix 0.39% to 1,277,000 won, the Korea Times reported. The Korea Times
• Reported A Goldman Sachs basket of Asian AI hardware stocks fell 11% last week, its steepest decline since mid-July, Bloomberg reported. Bloomberg, via the Taipei Times