Asian Markets Rally Broadly as Kospi Soars 12% in a Day

South Korea’s Kospi surged more than 12% on Thursday, signalling a sharp rebound from its session low and on track to log its best day, according to data from Refinitiv-LSEG. The small-cap Kosdaq rose more than 11%. The Kospi had earlier slumped 12% on Wednesday, its worst single-day decline. Asia-Pacific stocks rose on Thursday, recovering after several days of losses as sentiment improved following overnight gains on Wall Street and easing concerns about surging oil prices. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 opened the day up 0.38%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 4%, after a 3% fall in the previous session. Hang Seng index futures were at 25,534, higher than the last close of 25,249.48. All eyes were also on China’s major policy meetings known as the “Two Sessions,” which began on Wednesday. Last night in the United States, stocks rose, extending momentum seen at the end of the prior session, as oil prices cooled after developments in the US-Israel war over Iran and concerns about US growth eased. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 238.14 points, or 0.49%, to close at 48,739.41, ending a three-day losing streak. The S&P 500 gained 0.78% to finish at 6,869.50, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.29% to close at 22,807.48. Technology shares supported the market broadly, led by chip-related stocks. Micron Technology and Advanced Micro Devices each rose more than 5%. Broadcom and Nvidia each climbed more than 1%.