South Korean stocks once surged 14%, setting a record for the largest historical gain.

TechFlow reports, July 31, South Korean stocks climbed on Friday, rebounding from sharp declines in previous days, as spending plans from major tech companies reignited investor optimism regarding the AI trading frenzy. The benchmark KOSPI index rose as much as 14%, marking the largest single-day intraday gain in history. Foreign media analysis stated that, thanks to SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won's rare direct purchase of the company's stock, SK Hynix shares surged as much as 28% in early trading; memory chip peer Samsung Electronics also rose 26%. The KOSPI index had previously plummeted a cumulative 17% over the preceding three trading sessions, mainly due to market concerns over rising debt levels of global major tech companies. The significant rally driven by artificial intelligence this year has become increasingly volatile since the launch of leveraged products in May. "Recent accelerated selling of AI tech driven by deleveraging, de-risking, position closing, and other liquidity factors may be stabilizing," said Shawn Oh, head of Korea cash equities at NH Investment & Securities. Meanwhile, the Japanese stock market was also boosted, with the Nikkei 225 index rising 4% in early trading, breaking through 64,000 points. (Jin10)