SEOUL, January 30 (AJP) – Asian equities opened higher on Friday, with South Korean stocks leading the way. The KOSPI extended its rally to another intraday record, with SK hynix breaking above a new milestone.
SK hynix shares climbed for a fourth straight session on Friday, breaking above the 900,000-won mark for the first time on record. As of 9:58 a.m. Seoul time, the stock was trading up 6.85 percent at 920,000 won.
Improved investor sentiment followed its record earnings announced on Jan. 28, along with solid results from major U.S. technology companies overnight in New York and expectations of a red-hot earnings streak by the two memory behemoths as they report record results for 2025.
The KOSPI was trading at 5,260.32 as of 10:48 a.m. local time, up 0.75 percent, while the tech-heavy KOSDAQ rose 0.11 percent to 1,165.74.
Individual investors snapped up a net 312.5 billion won ($235 million), while foreign investors and institutions offloaded a net 102.2 billion won and 240.4 billion won, respectively.
Among heavyweight stocks, Samsung Electronics rose 2.43 percent to 164,600 won, while LG Energy Solution fell 1.20 percent to 415,000 won. Samsung Life Insurance dropped 0.89 percent to 190,300 won, and Samsung Biologics slipped 0.73 percent to 1,763,000 won.
Automakers traded lower, with Hyundai Motor falling 3.60 percent to 509,000 won and Kia sliding 0.97 percent to 153,400 won, as tariff-related cost pressures continued to weigh on the sector.
Amid ongoing tariff headwinds, Hyundai Motor is accelerating efforts to expand production in the United States. The automaker plans to raise U.S. output to more than 1.2 million vehicles this year and increase the share of locally produced vehicles to 80 percent by 2030.
The group sold 1.84 million vehicles in the U.S. last year, capturing an 11.3 percent market share, but produced only about 700,000 units locally, leaving around 60 percent of U.S. sales dependent on imports. As a result, Hyundai Motor’s tariff burden reached about 7.2 trillion won last year, contributing to a 24.2 percent drop in operating profit despite strong U.S. sales. Expanding U.S. production is widely seen as necessary to restore price competitiveness by reducing tariff, currency and logistics costs.
Defense and aerospace shares declined, with Hanwha Aerospace down 0.62 percent at 1,292,000 won.
Shipbuilders also traded lower. HD Hyundai Heavy Industries dropped 1.53 percent to 579,000 won, while Hanwha Ocean fell 2.04 percent to 139,000 won.
Risk-off sentiment intensified after U.S. stocks fell sharply overnight on technology-led losses and renewed concerns over a potential artificial intelligence bubble. Adding to caution, the Trump administration again named South Korea a currency monitoring country in the U.S. Treasury Department’s latest semiannual report, pushing the dollar higher in early trading.
The dollar was trading at 1,425.90 won, up 0.90 won from the previous day.
Elsewhere in Asia, Japanese shares were higher, with the Nikkei 225 gaining 0.31 percent to 53,538.44.
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