South Korea Financial Markets

Currency traders work at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026.

Tags

As featured on

Shares are mostly higher in Asia, with Kospi up 4%, while oil prices gain

Shares are mostly higher in Asia, with Kospi up 4%, while oil prices gain

Shares are mostly higher in Asia and U.S. futures have edged higher, while oil prices advanced. South Korea's Kospi index jumped 4% on a rebound for computer chipmakers. Samsung Electronics gained 7.7% and memory chipmaker SK Hynix was up 7.1%. On Tuesday, the S&P 500 fell 0.3% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.3%. The Nasdaq composite sank 0.6%. The price for a barrel of Brent crude was about $89, up nearly 1%. Higher oil prices make inflation worse. That has investors focused on Wednesday's release of the latest monthly reading on inflation in the U.S. Economists expect it to show inflation slipped to 3.4% in July from 3.5% in June.