Franklin FTSE South Korea ETF

FLKR

Valor de mercado US$ 1,54 bi

South Korean and Japanese stocks rebounded on Wednesday as investors returned to semiconductor and AI shares hammered in Tuesday's rout, though the recovery stopped well short of signalling an all-clear. The KOSPI was up about 1.5% at 6,123 by 11:30 am in Seoul after briefly gaining more than 2%, while the Nikkei 225 rose 0.61% to 68,193.13 at Tokyo's midday break.

The Korean market rises on falls on expectations for profitability of the semiconductor industry and how long it can be sustained. Sentiment is cyclical and right now, the skepticism is rising

South Korean stocks struggled to turn Micron Technology's record earnings into a lasting rally on Thursday, leaving the KOSPI near flat even as Japan's Nikkei 225 surged on renewed enthusiasm for semiconductor shares. The KOSPI recovered from an early 0.34% decline to trade around 6,805 by late morning, while Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix erased opening losses.

Exports from Asia's fourth-largest economy, home to memory-chip makers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, rose 83.5% from a year earlier to $120.94 billion in September.

Asian stocks came under renewed pressure on Tuesday as rising oil prices and a global bond selloff pushed borrowing costs higher, but the damage was uneven across the region's two major technology-heavy markets. Japan's Nikkei 225 fell about 1.2% to 65,070.58 in early trade, while South Korea's KOSPI was down a much smaller 0.2% near 6,877 late in the morning.

It's strange, but: Franklin FTSE South Korea ETF (FLKR) seems to trade at a steep discount despite robust earnings growth expectations. FLKR is highly concentrated, with nearly 50% exposure to memory giants SK Hynix and Samsung, making it more a play on the memory cycle than broad Korea. Current valuations seem to be below the KOSPI's 10-year average, while consensus expects EPS growth for large caps.

South Korea's KOSPI struggled to hold an early AI-driven surge on Wednesday, highlighting how quickly profit-taking is emerging around the 7,000 level even as foreign investors return to Seoul's semiconductor heavyweights. The benchmark opened 1.94% higher at 7,153.99 but had pared the gain to just 0.08% at 7,023.87 by 11:20 am in Seoul.

The Nikkei 225 and KOSPI advanced on Friday as falling oil prices and easing US Treasury yields revived demand for Asian technology shares, while investors absorbed another step towards tighter monetary policy after the Bank of Japan raised rates to a 31-year high. South Korea's KOSPI climbed about 2%, outperforming the region as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix rallied and foreign investors returned to the market.

Asian stocks diverged on Tuesday as South Korea's KOSPI struggled to shake off pressure on semiconductor shares while Japan's Nikkei 225 recovered, leaving the region's two most AI-sensitive markets moving in opposite directions ahead of key US and Japanese rate decisions. The KOSPI fell as much as 0.76% in early Seoul trading before paring most of the decline, extending a difficult stretch after Monday's sharp technology sell-off.

South Korea's KOSPI and Japan's Nikkei 225 led a broad Asian selloff on Friday as oil surged above $108 a barrel and US bond yields moved dangerously close to 5%, reviving concerns that inflation could force central banks to tighten further. The KOSPI dropped more than 2.5%, extending Thursday's weakness, while the Nikkei 225 tumbled about 2.8%.