South Korea's Kospi Surges 3% as Asian Markets React to Wall Street Gains
Asian stock markets showed mixed movements on the last trading day of the quarter, following a strong close on Wall Street. South Korea's Kospi index jumped 3.1%, led by semiconductor manufacturers, and is on track for an extraordinary 65% increase in the second quarter, having more than doubled since the start of the year. Japan's Nikkei rose 1.6%, poised for a record quarterly gain exceeding 36%, while China's Shanghai Composite edged up 0.2%. Conversely, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index declined by 1.3%.
China's manufacturing activity accelerated in June, supported by robust demand for high-tech exports amid the global artificial intelligence boom. The official Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rose to 50.3 points, surpassing economists' expectations of 50.1 and returning to expansion territory above the 50-point threshold. The non-manufacturing activity index, tracking construction and services, also increased slightly to 50.2 points from 50.1 in May, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.6% to a record close above 52,000 points for the first time. The S&P 500 gained 1.2%, and the Nasdaq rose 2.1%, ending a five-day losing streak for the latter two indices.
