Asian markets surge Wednesday; South Korea's KOSPI jumps about 7% and reclaims the 7,000 mark

Asian equity indices rebounded sharply on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, recovering much of the previous week's steep losses. South Korea's KOSPI climbed about 6.98%, reclaimed the 7,000-point level, and traded near 7,335 intraday; SK Hynix jumped more than 9% and Samsung Electronics rose close to 5.9%. Japan's Nikkei 225 added about 1.4%, with semiconductor makers leading the advance.

The main driver was softer-than-expected US June inflation data (an annual rate of 3.5%), which eased fears of aggressive Federal Reserve rate hikes, while a rotation back into chip stocks after the sharp early-week selloff, which had driven Seoul's Monday 'Black Monday' plunge of nearly 9%, fueled the surge. The rebound reflects a partial easing of the global risk aversion that spiked last week amid heightened US-Iran tensions and Strait of Hormuz concerns.