(URGENT) Seoul stocks rebound over 2 pct on eased chip rout, Fed bets

Seoul stocks surged over 2 percent on Friday, ending a seven-day losing streak and benefiting from a lessening of the chip rout and optimistic forecasts from the Federal Reserve. The Korean won gained strength against the US dollar. The KOSPI index climbed 113.83 points, or 2.05 percent, reaching 5,668.05. Despite a 286.5 million share turnover worth 20 trillion won, the majority of trades were winners, 757 to 134.

Large-cap tech shares saw significant buying, especially in South Korea's leading chipmakers, which had plummeted more than 10 percent the day before. Foreign investors were net buyers, purchasing 343.5 billion won worth of stocks, while retail and institutional investors collectively sold 1.17 trillion won. At the IMF-World Bank annual meetings in Bangkok, Fed Chair Kevin Warsh expressed confidence in the US economy, hinting at a possible rate hike, which prompted a resurgence in risk assets.

Investor sentiment was further boosted by Warsh's positive views on artificial intelligence (AI), calling it "probably the most consequential change to the U.S. and the global economy in my lifetime." Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's remarks also alleviated concerns regarding the AI industry's financial stability. Thursday, Huang expressed optimism about his company's partner, CoreWeave, noting that its financial condition was improving daily.

Shares in CoreWeave dropped over 15 percent on Wednesday due to a sharp increase in its corporate bond yields, spurring investor anxiety over the company's significant AI-related debt. In Seoul, major firms closed higher. Samsung Electronics rose 2.62 percent to 215,500 won, while SK hynix increased 0.79 percent to 1,272,000 won.

Hyundai Motor gained 5.58 percent to 312,000 won, defense firm Hanwha Aerospace added 7.77 percent to 888,000 won, and bio company Celltrion climbed 6.53 percent to 194,000 won. The Korean won was traded at 1,331.4 won per US dollar, up 13.2 won from the previous session. Bond prices, which decrease as yields rise, also increased, with the yield on three-year Treasurys falling 1.3 basis points to 3.854 percent, and the return on five-year government bonds declining 1.9 points to 3.988 percent.