South Korea Surges to Lead International Markets Higher

On Wednesday, October 28, 6 of the 8 tracked markets rose. The most unusual move came from South Korea, roughly twice the size of its usual day. That sharp advance put South Korea +5.4% at the front of the session, while Japan -0.3% finished at the bottom. The world fund closed +0.4%, moving in the same direction as US equities as the S&P 500 fund ended +0.3%.

Broad international markets largely echoed the steady tone in US equities, though performance varied by region. While technology-heavy indexes in Asia benefited from renewed investor enthusiasm for artificial intelligence hardware, European benchmarks recorded much smaller gains, and Chinese equities finished slightly lower.

In South Korea, chipmaker SK hynix reported record third-quarter revenue and profit alongside a new shareholder return plan. Company executives confirmed that high-bandwidth memory capacity is effectively committed through 2029 to support demand for artificial intelligence hardware. The announcement sparked widespread buying across Seoul, where the local benchmark KOSPI index climbed 6.63% during its domestic session. That strength carried through to the New York close, with South Korea +5.4% leading the tracked funds.

Japan told a different story. While technology shares saw some interest following regional chip results, the broader market failed to follow. On the Tokyo exchange, the broader TOPIX index fell 0.14%. Breadth was negative on the Nikkei 225 as well, with 139 declining stocks against 85 advancing ones. The session concluded with Japan -0.3% lagging the tracked group.

In both markets, scheduled events will test whether these moves hold. The Bank of Japan is scheduled to begin its two-day monetary policy meeting on October 29 and 30, with its quarterly economic outlook report due at the conclusion. In Seoul, the Bank of Korea has scheduled statistical releases for 06:00 and 12:00 on October 29.