TradingKey – Japanese and South Korean stocks continued to rebound, with the KOSPI surging to trigger a buy-side program trading halt. The Nikkei 225 edged up, while SK Hynix soared nearly 9%, and Samsung Electronics and Kioxia both rose about 6%.

During the Asian trading session on July 15, Japanese and South Korean stock markets closed strongly higher. Notably, the South Korean stock market delivered an extraordinary performance, led by a frenzied rally in chip stocks. The KOSPI surged over 7% intraday, triggering a temporary 5-minute program trading halt, and ultimately closed up 6.24% to reclaim the 7,000 mark at 7,284.42 points; Samsung Electronics closed up 6.27% at 279,500 Korean won; SK Hynix rose 8.83% to return to the 2 million mark at 2,082,000 Korean won.

KOSPI Index Chart, Source: TradingView

Compared to the frenzy in South Korea’s stock market, the Japanese stock market performed relatively steadily. The Nikkei 225 Index climbed steadily after opening, closing up 1.49% at 68,751.44 points; Kioxia rose 5.79% to reclaim the 70,000 mark, closing at 73,100 yen; SoftBank pulled back after an early spike, falling 3.26% to close at 6,360 yen.

SoftBank Stock Price Chart, Source: TradingView

Boosted by the positive news of an unexpected slowdown in the latest U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) for June, market concerns over further interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve have eased significantly. Japanese and South Korean stocks extended their gains, rebounding for a second consecutive trading session. However, this is not a reversal, as the Strait of Hormuz crisis continues to support rising oil prices, meaning inflation could be reignited.