APAC Market Wrap - Jun 25
Mainland China: A-shares registered a powerful rebound across tech growth sectors, driven by memory, semiconductors, and AI hardware.
The Shanghai Composite ticked up 0.23% to 4,120.28, while the ChiNext surged 2.84% to 4,371.99. Total turnover expanded to RMB 3.59 trillion, marked by a sharp divergence as heavyweights lifted the market while broader small-caps softened.
Hong Kong: Benchmarks remained under pressure, with the Hang Seng Index dropping 1.43% to 23,076.91 and the Tech Index shedding 1.63% to 4,405.92.
Tech heavyweights like Alibaba-W and Sunny Optical led the decline, while Southbound capital logged heavy net outflows amid a flight to safety.
Japan: The Nikkei 225 skyrocketed 4.61% to close at a fresh historic high of 72,366.34. Oversold technology plays staged a comprehensive recovery, led by AI hardware, foundational semiconductors, and memory silicon proxies like Kioxia, Tokyo Electron, and Advantest.
South Korea: The KOSPI posted a stunning 5.43% recovery to finish at 8,930.78, fully erasing the previous session's rout.
Morning futures surged over 5%, briefly triggering a 5-minute program trading halt. The memory matrix exploded, with SK Hynix rallying 13.00% and Samsung Electronics advancing 5.26% alongside broader AI equipment names.
Australia: The S&P/ASX 200 Index (.XJO) shed 0.70% to settle at 8,748.70, dragged lower by heavy liquidations across mining and precious metals.
Singapore: The Straits Times Index (.STI) ticked down 0.47% to 5,179.32, with local real estate and resources weighing on the benchmark amid narrow consolidation.
Malaysia: The FBM KLCI slid 1.10% to 1,663.82, showing structural weakness as commodity and precious metals names pulled back, decoupling from the tech-led rally in North Asia.
Key Global & Macro Dispatches
Extreme Weather Meets AI Infrastructure: Global heating and exponential demand for AI data center cooling solutions have driven a massive rally across the HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) complex. Carrier Global (CARR) saw its market cap climb to $60 billion (+33% YTD), Madison Air (MAIR) has surged 41% since its April IPO, and Tokyo-listed Daikin Industries (6367) is up 17% on the year.
Thailand's Unlikely AI Play: Thailand’s benchmark SET Index has surged nearly 23% year-to-date, making it Southeast Asia's top performer.
The rally is heavily concentrated in a single stock: Delta Electronics (Thailand) Pcl, a subsidiary of Taiwan's Delta Electronics. The provider of data center power systems has skyrocketed over 80% this year, becoming Thailand's first $100 billion company—larger than the next four largest domestic listings combined.
Seoul Delays Weekly Options Amid Volatility: Following a wave of extreme single-stock swings, the Korea Exchange (KRX) confirmed it will postpone the planned June 29 launch of weekly stock options for heavyweights including SK Hynix, Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor, and LG Energy Solution. The delay highlights rising regulatory caution, following recent oversight anxiety regarding single-stock leveraged ETFs.
Institutional Views
Goldman Sachs: The institutional investment bank highlighted that the global AI capital expenditure boom is driving South Korea's semiconductor manufacturing cycle far beyond historical duration and intensity expectations.
Driven by an AI-fueled trade surplus extending into year-end, Goldman projects South Korea's annual exports to breach the $1 trillion milestone, boosting its current account surplus to 15% of GDP.
Dallas Fed: A recent study by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas indicates that while the recent spring oil spike past $120 per barrel trimmed roughly 0.3 percentage points from US economic output, the modern economy remains significantly more resilient than it was during the 1980s oil shocks.
The resilience comes despite the US-backed conflict with Iran, which offline’d roughly 15% of global petroleum supplies and blocked the Strait of Hormuz, causing localized supply crunches and global commodity disruptions.