SEOUL, December 04 (AJP) - Japanese stocks defied concerns over a potential unwinding of the yen carry trade to push back above the 50,000-point threshold, while activity was subdued across most of Asia.
South Korea’s KOSPI closed 0.19 percent lower at 4,028.51 on Thursday. After sliding more than 1 percent in early trading, the index pared losses in the afternoon as foreigners took profits and nearly all U.S. megacap tech stocks—excluding AMD—declined overnight.
Foreign investors drove the weakness, net selling 696.5 billion won ($472.5 million). Retail investors net bought 560.8 billion won, and institutions purchased 131.7 billion won, positioning for the next upswing.
The KOSDAQ slipped 0.23 percent to 929.83, though its market cap is nearing the 500-trillion-won milestone amid expectations of government support measures for the secondary market.
The won continued to weaken, losing 3 won to 1,470 per dollar as of 5:10 p.m., pressured by foreign outflows following heavy stock sales during the session.
Bond yields were mixed. The three-year government bond yield fell 1.6 basis points to 3.025 percent but remained above 3 percent. The 10-year yield edged up 0.8 basis points to 3.376 percent.
Samsung Electronics rose 0.57 percent to 105,100 won after securing a contract to supply HBM4 memory for Google’s next-generation TPU production starting in 2026. SK hynix fell 1.81 percent to 542,000 won, weighed down by weak earnings at Kioxia, the Japanese NAND maker it has invested in, and softer AI-related demand from its key customer Microsoft.
Losses on the main bourse were softened by a sudden rally in robotics stocks, which surged on rumors that U.S. President Donald Trump may sign an executive order promoting the robotics industry. Hyundai AutoEver jumped 27.19 percent to 283,000 won. Hyundai Motor—the parent of AutoEver and Boston Dynamics—climbed 6.38 percent to 283,500 won. Doosan Robotics rose 7.82 percent to 82,700 won.
LG Electronics also gained, closing 5.92 percent higher at 94,800 won, supported by optimism around its automotive electronics and software-defined vehicle businesses.
The KOSDAQ likewise avoided a steeper decline thanks to robotics-linked names. Rainbow Robotics, in which Samsung Electronics is the largest shareholder, rose 6.3 percent to 472,500 won on the Washington headlines.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed 2.33 percent higher at 51,028.42, logging the largest gain among major Asian indices.
Export-heavy automakers advanced on expectations of a U.S. Federal Reserve rate cut. Toyota added 3.26 percent to 3,103 yen ($20), while Honda rose 2.93 percent to 1,548 yen. Robot makers also rallied sharply, with Fanuc soaring 12.98 percent to 5,953 yen and Yaskawa Electric jumping 11.37 percent to 4,769 yen.
Taiwan’s TAIEX closed at 27,795.71, unchanged from the previous session.
Chinese markets ended mixed. The Shanghai Composite finished flat at 3,875.79 amid lingering recession concerns, while the Shenzhen Component rose 0.4 percent to 13,006.72. Battery giant CATL climbed 1.93 percent to 383.35 yuan ($54.27), leading gains.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index ended 0.68 percent higher at 25,935.90, with Xiaomi up 4.33 percent at 41.96 Hong Kong dollars ($5.39).
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