SEOUL, November 4 (AJP) — South Korean stocks recovered from a steep intraday slide to close higher Wednesday, while Japanese and Taiwanese shares fell and Chinese markets rallied amid U.S. election uncertainty and shifting sentiment toward artificial intelligence investment.
The benchmark KOSPI gained 35.01 points, or 0.62 percent, to close at 5,683.80 after swinging between an intraday high of 5,828.13 and a low of 5,421.72.
The index opened higher following an overnight rebound in U.S. semiconductor shares, then reversed course as election results emerged before recovering late in the session despite heavy foreign selling.
Foreign investors sold a net 2.51 trillion won ($1.87 billion) of KOSPI shares, while retail investors and institutions bought 1.14 trillion won and 1.01 trillion won, respectively.
Samsung Electronics fell 0.68 percent to 218,000 won, while SK hynix edged down 0.14 percent to 1,396,000 won after both chipmakers recovered from much steeper intraday losses.
Non-chip heavyweights helped support the rebound. LG Energy Solution gained 5.03 percent to 355,000 won, Hyundai Motor advanced 2.16 percent to 283,500 won and Samsung Biologics climbed 2.96 percent.
The tech-heavy KOSDAQ gained 10.56 points, or 1.50 percent, to 714.95, led by a recovery in battery materials stocks. EcoPro BM surged 10.96 percent to 97,200 won, while EcoPro jumped 9.54 percent.
The won closed down 0.5 won at 1,341.5 per dollar, little changed after giving up earlier gains.
The U.S. dollar weakened broadly as Treasury yields fell amid the election results, but heavy foreign selling of Korean shares and domestic dollar demand may have limited the won's appreciation.
South Korean government bond yields fell across key maturities. The three-year Treasury bond yield declined 2.2 basis points to 3.714 percent, while the benchmark 10-year yield dropped 3.3 basis points to 3.968 percent. The 30-year yield fell 3.6 basis points to 4.053 percent.
The declines tracked a retreat in U.S. Treasury yields during Asian trading as Democratic gains in the midterm elections fueled concerns over AI investment and prompted demand for safer assets. Foreign buying of Korean government bond futures added to the morning rally, although yields recovered somewhat as stocks rebounded later in the session.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 fell 893.23 points, or 1.42 percent, to 62,188.63, extending its losing streak to three sessions. The broader TOPIX declined 34.90 points, or 0.89 percent, to 3,895.38.
The Nikkei briefly approached 60,000 earlier in the session before recovering as investors bought shares following the selloff.
Chip-testing equipment maker Advantest lost 3.35 percent to 34,570 yen, while semiconductor equipment supplier Tokyo Electron declined 3.42 percent to 9,663 yen.
SoftBank Group, a major investor in artificial intelligence businesses, fell 3.20 percent to 4,269 yen as concerns over the profitability of large-scale AI spending weighed on technology shares.
Memory chipmaker Kioxia Holdings dropped 5.38 percent to 10,735 yen, extending losses after disappointing earnings guidance sent its shares tumbling more than 15 percent on Monday.
The declines came amid concerns that tighter U.S. data center regulations could slow future AI infrastructure investment, potentially affecting demand for Japanese semiconductor equipment and memory chips.
Taiwanese shares also recovered much of their earlier losses but remained in negative territory.
The TAIEX fell 358.63 points, or 0.83 percent, to 42,948.91 after dropping as low as 41,855.82 during the session.
TSMC, the world's largest contract chipmaker, declined 1.53 percent to NT$2,260, while Hon Hai Precision Industry, better known as Foxconn, fell 2.24 percent to NT$240.
Quanta Computer, a major server manufacturer, slipped 2.89 percent to NT$302.5, while power management supplier Delta Electronics lost 3.94 percent to NT$1,220.
MediaTek bucked the trend, rising 1.09 percent to NT$3,715 as buying returned to selected semiconductor stocks.
Mainland Chinese shares, by contrast, rallied sharply in afternoon trading as Beijing stepped up measures to support the stock market.
The Shanghai Composite was up 1.44 percent at 3,660.38 as of 2 p.m. local time, while the Shenzhen Component surged 3.22 percent and the technology-heavy ChiNext index jumped 4.78 percent.
The People's Bank of China lowered the interest rate on its relending facility for share buybacks and stake purchases by 0.25 percentage points to 1 percent, effective Wednesday.
The central bank said banks had applied for more than 200 billion yuan ($30 billion) under the program, aimed at encouraging listed companies and major shareholders to purchase shares.
Semiconductor equipment, materials and precious metals were among the strongest-performing sectors as buying accelerated in technology shares during the afternoon.
In Hong Kong, stocks also reversed early losses as buying returned to selected technology and financial shares.
The Hang Seng Index was up 301.14 points, or 1.28 percent, at 23,827.11 as of 2:06 p.m. local time, after briefly falling to 23,385.29 earlier in the day.
The Hang Seng Tech Index gained 1.30 percent to 3,917.95, recovering from a decline of more than 1 percent during the morning session.
Heavyweight technology stocks including Alibaba, Tencent and Xiaomi had come under pressure earlier in the day, while biotechnology shares attracted buying interest.
The contrasting performances across Asia reflected different forces shaping investor sentiment. U.S. election results raised questions over the outlook for AI infrastructure spending, while domestic policy support helped drive a separate recovery in mainland Chinese equities.
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