APAC Market Wrap - Feb 11
Chinese Equity Markets: By the close, the Shanghai Composite edged up 0.09%, while the Shenzhen Component fell 0.35% and the ChiNext Index declined 1.08%.
Sector-wise, chemicals continued their recent streak of strength and non-ferrous metals remained active; on the downside, the film and theater sector saw a collective retreat.
Hong Kong Equity Markets: The major indices closed higher on Monday. By the finish, the Hang Seng Index rose 0.31% to 27,266.38 points; the Tech Index gained 0.90% to 5,499.99 points; and the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index edged up 0.28% to 9,268.18 points.
Market performance saw strength in gold, non-ferrous metals, autos, coal, and shipping. AI application concepts showed internal divergence, while insurance and semiconductors led the decliners.
Japanese Equity Market: Closed for holiday.
South Korean Equity Market: The KOSPI composite index climbed 1.00% to 5,354.49 points. Electronics, autos, and air freight sectors saw significant gains, while utilities, packaging materials, and shipping companies declined.
Australian Equity Market: The S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.66% to 9,014.800 points. Construction materials, non-alcoholic beverages, and home building sectors led the gains, while biotechnology, agriculture, and medical equipment trended lower.
Singapore Equity Market: The Straits Times Index (STI) rose 0.41% to 4,984.58 points. Financials and semiconductors gained, while forestry products and apparel declined.
Malaysian Equity Market: The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI rose 0.51% to 1,756.39 points. Energy and financial services sectors strengthened, while closed-end funds and business trusts weakened.
Key Events
Samsung Electronics CTO: Robust Memory Demand Expected Through 2027; HBM4 Gains Customer Momentum
Samsung Electronics CTO Song Jai-hyuk stated on Wednesday that the company expects the surge in memory chip demand to persist not only through this year but well into 2027, driven by the AI boom. He emphasized that Samsung’s HBM4 chips are showing "solid" manufacturing yields and that customers have expressed high satisfaction with their performance.
"We may have temporarily struggled to demonstrate our superior technical responsiveness to customer needs, but this should be seen as a return to that standard," Song told reporters ahead of his keynote at the 2026 Semiconductor Conference in South Korea. Samsung reportedly plans to begin mass production and delivery of HBM4 to major clients later this month, utilizing its 1c (sixth-generation 10nm-class DRAM) process.
Bitcoin "Whale" Buy Signals Flash, but Crypto Recovery Faces Upstream Battle
After a brief rally in January, the cryptocurrency market has remained sluggish as it searches for a definitive "buy" signal to sustain optimism. Data from Glassnode shows that Bitcoin "whales"—large-scale holders—purchased approximately 53,000 BTC last week, the largest single-week accumulation since last November. Wallets holding over 1,000 BTC added over $4 billion in value, breaking a months-long selling streak.
However, the scale of this accumulation remains relatively restrained, raising questions about whether this signals a true recovery or merely whales stabilizing prices to mitigate losses. As of press time, Bitcoin has retreated to approximately $67,000, roughly 46% below its record high set last October.