SEOUL, March 11 (AJP) — Asian stocks opened higher on Wednesday despite mixed signals from Wall Street, as markets remained jittery over conflicting messages from Washington and shifting remarks by U.S. President Donald Trump on the trajectory and duration of the Middle East war.
As of 10:55 a.m., South Korea’s benchmark KOSPI rose 3.43 percent to 5,722.17, while the tech-heavy KOSDAQ gained 2.48 percent to 1,165.94.
In Tokyo, the benchmark Nikkei 225 climbed 1.92 percent to 55,289.74 in early trading, with semiconductor-related shares attracting buying after strong gains by U.S. chipmakers overnight, led by Intel, AMD and Micron. Shares of NAND flash maker Kioxia Holdings surged 7.23 percent to 21,000 yen.
Taiwanese shares also moved higher, with the TAIEX rising 2.03 percent to 33,438.19. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index advanced 0.35 percent to 26,049.87.
Foreigners returned to Seoul, buoyed by overnight reward programs from Korea's most influential corporate names.
Overseas investors turned net buyers on Tuesday, purchasing 1.034 trillion won ($770 million) worth of shares on the KOSPI market. Most of the inflows were concentrated in semiconductor blue chips.
Foreign investors bought 778.9 billion won worth of Samsung Electronics shares and 709.2 billion won of SK hynix, bringing total purchases in the two stocks to more than 1.4 trillion won.
The move marked a notable shift after foreigners had dumped more than 20 trillion won worth of Samsung Electronics shares since mid-February, returning to major semiconductor stocks after roughly a month of heavy selling.
The buying likely reflects portfolio adjustments ahead of potential U.S. tariff hikes, as well as bargain hunting in semiconductor blue chips that had fallen sharply in recent weeks.
Samsung Electronics rose 1.81 percent to 191,300 won, while SK hynix gained 1.49 percent to 952,000 won in Wednesday morning trading.
Samsung Electronics said it plans to cancel about 87 million treasury shares — roughly 82.5 percent of its 105.43 million holdings as of end-2025 — in the first half of this year, worth about 15.6 trillion won based on the March 10 closing price. The move is part of its 10 trillion won share buyback program announced in November to address its valuation discount.
Separately, SK Inc., the holding company of SK Group with memory giant SK hynix under its umbrella, decided to cancel about 14.69 million treasury shares, or 80 percent of its holdings, by January next year. The cancellation is valued at roughly 5.1 trillion won based on the latest closing price.
Still, it remains too early to conclude that the rebound will be sustained. U.S. stocks ended mixed Tuesday as uncertainty surrounding the Strait of Hormuz resurfaced despite falling oil prices. Remarks by Trump about a possible early ceasefire and discussions among G7 nations about releasing strategic petroleum reserves pushed oil prices lower, but geopolitical risks from the ongoing war remain an overhang for markets.
Automakers also advanced, with Hyundai Motor up 2.57 percent to 538,500 won and Kia rising 3.98 percent to 167,400 won. Hyundai Mobis added 2.13 percent to 432,000 won.
In the battery sector, LG Energy Solution gained 2.18 percent to 375,000 won.
Defense and shipbuilding stocks maintained strength, with Hanwha Aerospace up 1.51 percent to 1,477,000 won, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries rising 3.26 percent to 602,000 won, and HD Hyundai Electric advancing 3.19 percent to 971,000 won.
Financial shares rallied as well. KB Financial Group jumped 5.83 percent to 156,000 won, Samsung Life Insurance rose 5.44 percent to 223,000 won, and Shinhan Financial Group gained 3.92 percent to 92,700 won.
Among other large caps, Samsung Biologics rose 3.33 percent to 1,645,000 won, SK Square climbed 3.79 percent to 575,000 won, Samsung C&T gained 5.49 percent to 288,000 won, Naver advanced 2.95 percent to 227,000 won, and Korea Zinc rose 4.92 percent to 1,705,000 won.
Shares of retail giant Emart rose 4.5 percent to 95,600 won after the company said its board approved a share swap with Shinsegae Food to acquire the remaining 26.91 percent stake and make the food affiliate a wholly owned subsidiary. Shinsegae Food will be delisted following the deal.
The Korean won was trading at 1,469.2 per dollar, little changed from the previous close of 1,469.3.
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