Asian stock markets posted a sharp intraday rebound on July 31, with South Korea’s KOSPI surging 15.15% and triggering a circuit breaker, Taiwan stocks jumping more than 2,900 points, and Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbing past the 65,000 mark.
BlockTempo said the move came after U.S. stocks finished broadly higher the previous night. The report also pointed to earnings results and capital expenditure plans from Microsoft and Meta, which eased investor concern over a possible slowdown in AI spending.
KOSPI triggers circuit breaker after 15.15% intraday jump
South Korea’s KOSPI opened up 64.22 points, or 1.14%, and extended gains through the session. The index moved above 6,000 and later reached 6,441.38, up 847.81 points on the day, for a 15.15% rise that triggered a circuit breaker.
Memory names led the rally. SK Hynix rose as much as 27% intraday, while Samsung Electronics gained 20%.
The rebound followed a steep sell-off. According to the report, KOSPI had fallen a cumulative 17% over the previous three trading days, meaning the one-day rally recovered most of those losses.
Nikkei 225 rises more than 5%
Japanese stocks also moved higher. The Nikkei 225 opened up 90 points at 61,957, then advanced past 65,000 during the session. Its intraday high reached 65,157, marking a gain of 3,290 points, or 5.31%.
BlockTempo said buying in Japan was concentrated in semiconductor and memory-related supply chain shares.
Taiwan stocks set record intraday point gain
In Taiwan, the market had closed at 39,933 on July 30. On July 31, it opened higher and kept climbing, rising more than 2,900 points intraday to a session high of 42,895.
The jump brought the index back above 40,000, 41,000, and 42,000 in one move. The report described it as the largest intraday point gain on record, surpassing the performance seen on May 4 this year.
Among major stocks, Delta Electronics rose more than 8% intraday, while Nan Ya, MediaTek, and ASE Technology Holding all opened limit-up. Total market capitalization of listed companies increased from TWD 130.4 trillion to nearly TWD 140 trillion, a one-day rise of more than TWD 9 trillion.
Wall Street rally and AI spending outlook set the backdrop
The report tied the jump in Asian equities to a strong U.S. session on July 30. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 613.92 points, or 1.19%. The Nasdaq gained 2.78%, ending a six-session losing streak.
The S&P 500 added 1.66%, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index jumped 8.19%.
Microsoft shares recorded their biggest single-day gain in 18 years, according to the report. BlockTempo said earnings and capital expenditure plans from Microsoft and Meta temporarily eased concern over a slowdown in AI infrastructure investment.