Kospi, Hang Seng Index, Nikkei 225

South Korea’s Kospi rose over 12% on Thursday, making a sharp recovery from its worst session and on track for its best day, data from LSEG showed.

Index heavyweights SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics are up more than 15% and 14%, respectively. The South Korean won was last traded at 1,460.60, gaining 0.14% against the dollar.

Small-cap Kosdaq rose more than 11%.

The Kospi index fell 12% on Wednesday, its worst single-day decline.

“The sell-off was mainly driven by the upside risk in oil prices arising from evolving geopolitical developments,” said Raisah Rasid, global market strategist at JP Morgan Asset Management.

“As South Korea is a major importer of crude oil, uncertainty about how high oil prices may rise could put pressure on the current account balance and increase inflationary pressures.”

“Supply-demand dynamics in the memory chips space are likely to remain tight throughout this year and possibly next,” Rasid said, adding that long-term structural factors for Korean stocks remain intact.

Similarly, Aberdeen Investments’ Kieron Poon, investment director of Asian equities at Aberdeen Investments, said Wednesday’s sell-off was further fueled by the Korean market recovering from the public holiday on Monday, so Tuesday’s decline reflected pent-up risk-off sentiment and losses.

Other Asia-Pacific markets also jumped on Thursday, rebounding from several days of big losses as sentiment improved following Wall Street’s overnight gains and concerns about rising oil prices eased.

of Australia S&P/ASX 200 It started the day with a 0.38% increase.

of japan Nikkei 225 It rose 4% after falling 3% in the previous session.

Hong Kong Hang Seng index Futures traded at 25,534, above the last close of 25,249.48.

Taiwan’s benchmark Taiex rose more than 4%.

“Global markets are likely to remain volatile in the near term and there is still room for further downside if global risk aversion continues as the Iran war drags on,” Aberdeen’s Poon said.

All eyes are also on China’s Grand Policy Meeting. “Two Sessions” It started on Wednesday.

China on Thursday set its 2026 GDP growth target at 4.5% to 5%; China has set a target of between 4.5% and 5%, the lowest target on records dating back to the early 1990s, as Beijing grapples with persistent deflationary pressures and trade tensions with the United States, according to a copy of a government work report seen by CNBC.

That target marks a decline from the “about 5%” level set in the past three years, excluding 2020 when Beijing did not set a growth target due to the pandemic, and the most modest target yet for the world’s second-largest economy.

Beijing also kept its budget deficit target unchanged from last year’s level of “around 4%” of GDP, as the National People’s Congress, the country’s top legislative body, holds its annual meeting this week.

Stocks in the US rose, surpassing the momentum seen at the end of the previous session, as the increase in oil prices retreated following the developments in the US-Israeli war against Iran and the fear of US economic growth decreased.

Dow Jones Industrial Average It closed at 48,739.41 points, up 238.14 points or 0.49%. The 30-stock index ended a three-day losing streak. S&P 500 It ended at 6,869.50, up 0.78%. Nasdaq Composite It rose by 1.29% to 22,807.48.

Technology stocks supported the broader market, especially those in the chip space. Micron Technology And Advanced Micro Devices each improved by more than 5%. broadcom And Nvidia There was an increase of more than 1 percent per capita.