Why it matters
- South Korea's Kospi jumped 6.63% to 6,012.44 on Wednesday, Oct. 28, Yahoo Finance data showed, after SK hynix said its third-quarter operating profit rose more than sevenfold, Trading Economics said.
- The AI rally spread across the region. Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 1.08% to 63,954.19, Taiwan's Taiex 2.04% and China's Shenzhen Component 2.02%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng edged up 0.23%.
- Australia lagged. The ASX 200 ended little changed at about 8,847 after September inflation rose to 4.3%, a six-month high, lifting bets on a Reserve Bank rate hike, Trading Economics said.
Session recap: what happened in this region's trading day, with sources.
Asian stocks rose on Wednesday, Oct. 28, led by a 6.63% jump in South Korea's Kospi to 6,012.44, according to Yahoo Finance data, after chipmaker SK hynix reported a surge in quarterly profit and revived optimism about artificial intelligence demand, Trading Economics said. Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 1.08%, Taiwan's Taiex 2.04% and mainland China's markets rebounded. Australia was the exception, ending flat after hotter inflation data.
| Market | Wednesday close | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Kospi (South Korea) | 6,012.44 | +6.63% |
| Nikkei 225 (Japan) | 63,954.19 | +1.08% |
| Taiex (Taiwan) | 47,035.58 | +2.04% |
| Hang Seng (Hong Kong) | 23,094.83 | +0.23% |
| Shanghai Composite (China) | 3,681.47 | +0.91% |
| Shenzhen Component (China) | 11,473.18 | +2.02% |
| S&P/ASX 200 (Australia) | 8,847.30 | −0.03% |
| Sensex (India) | 73,246.03 | −0.48% |
| Nifty 50 (India) | 22,698.85 | −0.22% |
Source: Yahoo Finance daily chart data and the Taiwan Stock Exchange; changes are from Tuesday, Oct. 27, closes.
Why did Asian stocks rise today?
Asian stocks rose because a blowout quarter from SK hynix renewed confidence in AI-driven chip demand, Trading Economics said. SK hynix said its third-quarter operating profit rose more than sevenfold to 83.33 trillion won, beating expectations by more than 7%, and announced an extra 60 trillion won in shareholder returns, it said. Overnight gains on Wall Street also helped. The Nasdaq Composite rose 1.18% on Tuesday and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index 3.6%, Trading Economics said.
Seoul led. SK hynix closed up 10.89% and Samsung Electronics 9.01%, Yahoo Finance data showed. Investors stayed cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve decision, which lands early Thursday in Asia, Trading Economics said.
How did Japan and Taiwan trade?
The Nikkei 225 rose 1.08% to 63,954.19, a second straight gain, on Wall Street's rally, renewed AI enthusiasm and easing oil prices, Trading Economics said. It pointed to Broadcom's $63 billion Anthropic-related financing, Oracle's expanded partnership with OpenAI and Meta's $25 billion share offering. Chip and tech shares led, Yahoo Finance data showed: Kioxia jumped 13.76%, Ibiden 7.94%, Renesas Electronics 7.47%, Taiyo Yuden 7.14%, SoftBank Group 4.65% and Advantest 3.16%. The yen was at about 157.95 per dollar around 13:00 GMT.
Taiwan's Taiex rose 939.35 points to 47,035.58, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed. TSMC rose 1.04%, Yahoo Finance data showed.
Why did China and Hong Kong stocks rise?
Mainland stocks rebounded from Tuesday's steep losses on renewed AI optimism, Trading Economics said. The Shanghai Composite rose 0.91% and the Shenzhen Component 2.02%. Zhongji Innolight jumped 10.28%, Cambricon 4.93% and SMIC 2.0%, it said. Investors also looked ahead to results from Alphabet, Microsoft and Amazon, and to the end of the Communist Party's Fifth Plenum on Thursday.
The Hang Seng rose 0.23% as tech shares gained, offsetting worries about weaker mainland buying, Trading Economics said. Mainland investors have net sold about HK$20 billion of Hong Kong stocks this month, it said. Lenovo rose 6.17% and SMIC 5.43%.
Why was Australia flat?
Australia's ASX 200 gave up a morning rise to a seven-week high and ended little changed, Trading Economics said, after annual inflation rose to 4.3% in September from 4.0%, above the Reserve Bank's 2% to 3% target. Governor Michele Bullock told lawmakers inflation could stay high for longer, it said. Lynas Rare Earths rose 7.3%, while Reece fell 8.8% and Ampol 3.8%.
What comes next?
Europe's session is in our Europe Wednesday recap, and U.S. futures, oil, the Bank of Canada and the Fed decision are in our day-ahead guide. Tuesday's session is in our Asia Tuesday recap, and live levels are on the markets page.
Follow the rest of the trading day on our global market today page, with the latest Asia, Europe and Americas session recaps.
Sources
- Trading Economics, South Korea stock market (Kospi)
- Trading Economics, Japan stock market (Nikkei 225)
- Trading Economics, China stock market
- Trading Economics, Hong Kong stock market (Hang Seng)
- Trading Economics, Australia stock market (ASX 200)
- Taiwan Stock Exchange, daily Taiex history for October 2026
- Yahoo Finance, chart data for the Kospi, Nikkei 225, Taiex, Hang Seng, Shanghai Composite, Shenzhen Component, S&P/ASX 200, Sensex, Nifty 50, SK hynix, Samsung Electronics, Kioxia, Ibiden, Renesas, Taiyo Yuden, SoftBank Group, Advantest, TSMC and USD/JPY