SEOUL, December 29 (AJP) - Major Asian equity markets moved in different directions in the final week of December, as investors digested ex-dividend adjustments alongside shifting policy and sector-specific signals.
South Korea’s stock market extended its rally despite the ex-dividend cutoff, while Japan slipped under selling pressure tied to dividend adjustments and inflation concerns.
The benchmark KOSPI rose 1.45 percent to 4,190 as of 10 a.m. Monday, posting a second straight gain and marking the strongest performance among major Asian markets. The index continued its late “Santa rally” even after dividend eligibility ended last week.
Retail investors led the advance, net buying 378.1 billion won ($263.4 million), while institutions and foreign investors turned net sellers, offloading 344.0 billion won and 20.0 billion won, respectively, following the ex-dividend date.
The won strengthened to 1,435.3 per dollar, up 9.7 won from the previous session, a move widely attributed to tangible measures such as forward exchange selling and currency hedging after recent verbal intervention by authorities.
Blue-chip stocks advanced on multiple positive catalysts.
Samsung Electronics climbed 2.1 percent to 119,500 won, supported by reports that it passed performance tests for its next-generation HBM4 chips and equipped its latest application processor with an in-house GPU. Investor sentiment was also lifted by the company’s expansion into automotive electronics through its Harman unit’s €1.5 billion ($1.76 billion) acquisition of German auto supplier ZF’s advanced driver-assistance systems business.
SK hynix surged 6 percent to 635,000 won after being lifted from “investment warning” status. The rally was fueled by heavy buying and reports that HBM3E prices have risen more than 20 percent, alongside bullish forecasts such as Nomura Securities’ projection that the chipmaker’s operating profit could reach 100 trillion won in 2026.
The Korean chipmakers are also set to gain if the mass-scale earthquake in Taiwan causes disruption in chipmaking activities in the country, home to around 70 percent of global chip supplies.
Other stocks recently freed from investment warnings also jumped, with Hanwha Aerospace gaining 8 percent to 70,000 won and SK Square rising 3.5 percent to 346,500 won.
Naver advanced 3.6 percent to 240,000 won, benefiting from user inflows into its Naver Plus Store following a massive data breach at Coupang that affected about 33.7 million accounts and reportedly led to a decline in the e-commerce giant’s daily active users.
Shares linked to autonomous driving also moved higher. Hyundai AutoEver climbed 5.3 percent to 305,500 won, while Hyundai Mobis rose 2.9 percent to 368,500 won.
By contrast, LG Energy Solution slipped 2 percent to 375,500 won upon back-to-back EV fallout. After it lost contract with Ford earlier in the month, the company also reported the cancellation of another deal with U.S. battery pack maker Freudenberg Battery Power Systems.
The tech-heavy KOSDAQ gained 0.6 percent to 925, supported by retail net buying of 200.0 billion won.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.32 percent to 50,587, weighed down by ex-dividend selling and stronger-than-expected inflation data that reinforced expectations the Bank of Japan could pursue additional rate hikes.
Major stocks were mostly weaker, with Toyota Motor down 0.2 percent to 3,373 yen ($21.6).
Semiconductor-related shares also declined, as Advantest slipped 1.4 percent and Disco fell 1.9 percent, though Ibiden bucked the trend, rising 1.1 percent to 6,690 yen following its stock split.
Taiwan’s TAIEX opened 0.35 percent higher at 28,654. MediaTek gained 1 percent to 1,400 Taiwan dollars ($44.6) after announcing a joint development with Japan’s Denso on an automotive system-on-chip for advanced driver assistance. Foxconn rose 1.8 percent to 230 Taiwan dollars on growing optimism over AI server shipments.
In mainland China, Hong Kong stocks outperformed regional peers. The Hang Seng Index rose 0.8 percent to 26,038 after the United States extended tariff exemptions on Chinese-made semiconductors for another 18 months, lifting Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. 3 percent to 73 Hong Kong dollars ($9.4).
Meanwhile, China’s mainland benchmarks were little changed, with the Shanghai Composite at 3,964 and the Shenzhen Component at 13,580.
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