The Nikkei 225 and KOSPI advanced on Friday as falling oil prices and easing US Treasury yields revived demand for Asian technology shares, while investors absorbed another step towards tighter monetary policy after the Bank of Japan raised rates to a 31-year high.
South Korea’s KOSPI climbed about 2%, outperforming the region as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix rallied and foreign investors returned to the market.
The Nikkei 225 gained around 0.8% even after the BOJ lifted its policy rate by 25 basis points to 1.25%.
The yen weakened after the decision, providing additional support to Japanese exporters.
KOSPI gets foreign buyers back as chip trade revives
The clearest change in Seoul was not simply the index gain but who was buying it.
Foreign investors turned net buyers of KOSPI stocks for the first time in eight sessions, purchasing about 231 billion won by late morning.
Samsung Electronics rose 2.6% and SK Hynix jumped roughly 4.5%, extending the rebound in memory and AI-linked stocks after a strong session for US semiconductors overnight.
The KOSPI traded around 6,848 after opening 2.5% higher.
South Korean equities are particularly sensitive to both US yields and AI sentiment because Samsung and SK Hynix dominate the benchmark.
Kiwoom Securities analyst Han Ji-young told Seoul Economic Daily that the recent foreign selling appeared more consistent with short-term risk management around macro uncertainty than a deterioration in Korea’s underlying equity story.
Nikkei 225 rises even as BOJ delivers another hike
Tokyo faced a different policy backdrop.
The BOJ voted 7-2 to raise rates from 1% to 1.25%, the highest level since 1995, as officials responded to persistent inflation and pressure from expensive energy imports.
Two board members dissented, helping soften expectations that another increase is imminent.
The yen weakened towards 157 per dollar after the announcement, while the Nikkei extended its advance.
A softer currency remains supportive for exporters, while chip shares including Advantest and Lasertec had already benefited from the overnight rebound in US technology stocks.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia strategist Sarah Hammoud told Free Malaysia Today before the decision that the widely expected hike alone was unlikely to strengthen the yen.
She argued that Governor Kazuo Ueda would need to convince investors that another increase, potentially in December, remained realistic.
Lower oil gives both markets some breathing room
The common tailwind for Japan and South Korea is energy.
Brent crude fell towards $103-$104 a barrel as hopes grew that Saudi Arabia could restore part of its damaged East-West pipeline capacity and use alternative shipment routes.
Both economies depend heavily on imported energy, making lower crude supportive for corporate margins, currencies and inflation expectations.
US yields also eased, with the 10-year Treasury around 4.94% after moving above 5% earlier this week.
MSCI’s broad Asia-Pacific index excluding Japan gained about 1%, while Hong Kong, mainland Chinese and Australian shares also moved higher.
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