KOSPI Jumps 3.54%, Nikkei Gains 1.43%, But How Is Oil Driving the Rebound?

In Wednesday morning trading, South Korea’s KOSPI rose 3.54% and Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 1.43%, with chip stocks leading the rebound as oil prices eased. West Texas Intermediate futures fell 1.80% to $101.79 a barrel overnight, while Brent slipped 0.69% to $108.79 after nearing $112. Seo Sang-young, a managing director at Mirae Asset Securities, tied the bounce to hopes for U.S.-Iran talks, which pushed oil lower and steadied long-term interest rates, drawing buyers into chip stocks. Other factors included an after-hours earnings surprise from U.S. AI-server maker Super Micro Computer and technical buying after the KOSPI’s more than 3% drop on Tuesday, which Kiwoom Securities analyst Han Ji-young credited. The KOSPI remained down 17.14% over one month.