Asia Market Wrap 27 August: Korea Leads as Nvidia Lifts Chips and Bank of Korea Hikes Again
South Korea led Asian equities higher on Thursday as Nvidia’s stronger than expected results lifted chip stocks across the region at the open, and the Bank of Korea then delivered a second straight rate increase alongside an upgraded growth forecast. China’s main boards also rallied, the same day the National Bureau of Statistics reported that profits at China’s integrated circuit makers increased 18.5 times year on year in the first 7 months of 2026. The Kospi rose 1.53 percent to 6,912.37, the strongest of the 11 benchmarks we track, and the Kosdaq added 1.30 percent to 837.65, while 6 of the 11 finished higher and the spread between the best and worst performer was 2.51 percentage points, on our calculation.
Korea extends its rally after a second rate hike
The Bank of Korea raised its Base Rate by 25 basis points to 3.00 percent on Thursday, its second consecutive increase after a July hike that had been its first in more than 3 years, as detailed in The Edge’s own coverage of the decision published earlier today. The Monetary Policy Board also raised its 2026 growth forecast to 3.3 percent from the 2.6 percent it projected in May, and the decision was not unanimous: 6 board members supported the increase while 1, Hwang Kunil, voted to hold at 2.75 percent. The Kospi rose 2.48 percent at the open, lifted by the overnight Nvidia results alongside the rest of the region’s chip stocks, before paring to its 1.53 percent close as the market digested the rate decision, per CNBC. Thursday’s gain takes the Kospi’s 2-session advance over Wednesday and Thursday to about 2.51 percent, on our calculation, compounding Wednesday’s 0.97 percent rise with Thursday’s 1.53 percent move.
China’s profit growth shows heavy concentration in chips
China’s Shenzhen Component rose 1.50 percent to 14,048.88 and the Shanghai Composite added 1.13 percent to 3,956.57, the second and fourth strongest benchmarks in the region. The gains came the same day the National Bureau of Statistics reported that profits at China’s major industrial firms rose 17.6 percent in the first 7 months of 2026 from a year earlier, though the pace slowed to an 11.2 percent annual rise in July alone, the weakest month this year, following 18.7 percent growth in the first half. Within that total, the electronics industry’s profits grew 110 percent and contributed 9.3 percentage points to the overall increase, according to the official release. The integrated circuit industry alone, led by computing and storage chip makers, saw profits increase 18.5 times year on year for the January to July period and accounted for more than 80 percent of the electronics sector’s profit gains, per the same release. Separately, high-technology manufacturing profits rose 50.1 percent and contributed 9.6 percentage points to the total. Economists quoted by CNBC, including Tianchen Xu of the Economist Intelligence Unit and Sophie Altermatt of Julius Baer, said resilience in raw materials and the artificial-intelligence supply chain contrasted with weaker consumer-facing industries, and that further policy support is likely if growth continues to slow.
The rest of the region splits
Taiwan’s Taiex added 0.31 percent to 45,975.22 and Japan’s Topix rose 0.15 percent to 4,117.22, while the broader Nikkei 225 slipped 0.20 percent to 66,131.98. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.34 percent to 25,565.74, India’s Nifty 50 lost 0.48 percent to 24,090.85, Singapore’s Straits Times eased 0.65 percent to 5,684.12 and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was the weakest benchmark in the region, down 0.98 percent to 9,038.20. The Edge did not confirm a single driver for the declines at an approved originator and does not offer one.
| Index | Close | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Kospi (South Korea) | 6,912.37 | +1.53% |
| Shenzhen Component (China) | 14,048.88 | +1.50% |
| Kosdaq (South Korea) | 837.65 | +1.30% |
| Shanghai Composite (China) | 3,956.57 | +1.13% |
| Taiex (Taiwan) | 45,975.22 | +0.31% |
| Topix (Japan) | 4,117.22 | +0.15% |
| Nikkei 225 (Japan) | 66,131.98 | -0.20% |
| Hang Seng (Hong Kong) | 25,565.74 | -0.34% |
| Nifty 50 (India) | 24,090.85 | -0.48% |
| Straits Times (Singapore) | 5,684.12 | -0.65% |
| S&P/ASX 200 (Australia) | 9,038.20 | -0.98% |
| Contract | Level | Change |
|---|---|---|
| ICE Brent crude, October 2026 | $88.26 | +0.48% |
| COMEX silver, September 2026 | $68.14 | +0.17% |
| WTI crude, October 2026 | $82.26 | +0.04% |
| COMEX gold, December 2026 | $4,632.50 | -0.45% |
| Instrument | Level | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Bitcoin | $79,669.88 | +1.55% |
| USD/INR | 95.54 | +0.14% |
| USD/JPY | 159.44 | +0.09% |
| ICE dollar index | 99.207 | +0.04% |
| USD/CNY | 6.7205 | -0.03% |
| EUR/USD | 1.1645 | -0.03% |
| GBP/USD | 1.3579 | -0.10% |
| USD/KRW | 1,381.33 | -0.25% |
| VIX | 14.97 | -1.58% |
| US 10-year Treasury yield | 4.66% | official par yield curve, 26 August |
| USD/KWD, Central Bank of Kuwait | 0.306850 | official rate for 26 August, value date 31 August |
| USD/EGP, Central Bank of Egypt | 50.1481 buy / 50.2880 sell | official rate, 26 August |
| Index | Close | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Nasdaq 100 (United States) | 29,224.52 | +0.05% |
| S&P 500 (United States) | 7,675.70 | -0.02% |
| Nasdaq Composite (United States) | 26,130.20 | -0.08% |
| Russell 2000 (United States) | 3,005.90 | -0.14% |
| Dow Jones Industrial Average (United States) | 53,463.88 | -0.21% |
United States, 26 August close, for reference
| Index | Close | Change |
|---|---|---|
| BEL 20 (Belgium) | 5,860.95 | +0.45% |
| FTSE MIB (Italy) | 52,882.99 | +0.31% |
| Euro Stoxx 50 (euro area) | 6,473.62 | +0.28% |
| CAC 40 (France) | 8,462.39 | +0.27% |
| OMXS30 (Sweden) | 3,326.34 | +0.24% |
| SMI (Switzerland) | 14,542.90 | +0.12% |
| DAX (Germany), Xetra close | 26,285.96 | +0.08% |
| IBEX 35 (Spain) | 20,067.30 | +0.05% |
| Stoxx Europe 600 (Europe) | 656.64 | +0.02% |
| PSI 20 (Portugal) | 9,446.39 | +0.01% |
| OMX Helsinki (Finland) | 13,710.48 | -0.01% |
| AEX (Netherlands) | 1,107.76 | -0.05% |
| FTSE 100 (United Kingdom) | 10,878.12 | -0.07% |
| OMXC 25 (Denmark) | 1,920.84 | -0.74% |
Europe, 26 August close, for reference
| Index | Close | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Nomu Parallel Market (Saudi Arabia) | 21,823.53 | +0.93% |
| QE Index (Qatar), on our calculation | 9,854.10 | +0.71% |
| DFM General (Dubai) | 5,866.79 | +0.55% |
| MSCI Tadawul 30 (Saudi Arabia) | 1,519.30 | +0.42% |
| MSX 30 (Oman) | 7,532.53 | +0.40% |
| Tadawul All Share (Saudi Arabia) | 11,259.90 | +0.25% |
| ASE Index (Jordan) | 4,017.13 | +0.18% |
| Kuwait All-Share (Kuwait) | 8,894.37 | -0.08% |
| Bahrain All Share (Bahrain) | 1,943.21 | -0.20% |
| Kuwait Premier Market (Kuwait) | 9,302.73 | -0.20% |
| EGX 30 (Egypt) | 55,106.54 | -0.31% |
| FTSE ADX General (Abu Dhabi) | 10,035.86 | -0.34% |
Middle East, 26 August close, for reference
Why it matters
Thursday’s session had a shared overnight catalyst in Nvidia’s results, but Korea and China layered their own domestic stories on top of it. Korea’s central bank tightened policy while raising its own growth forecast, and the Kospi held most of its Nvidia-driven opening gain even after that tightening. China’s profit growth showed unusually heavy concentration in electronics, particularly integrated circuits, even as the broader industrial-profit growth rate decelerated. Neither story fully explains why the rest of the region, despite the same overnight lift, was mixed to lower by the close.
Outlook
The Bank of Korea publishes its Board members’ Base Rate outlook on a 6-month conditional horizon rather than a full-year forecast. Of the 21 dots in Thursday’s chart, 10 sat at 3.25 percent and 6 at 3.50 percent, with 5 at today’s 3.00 percent, leaving 16 of 21 above the current rate, a split worth watching against whether Thursday’s Kospi and Kosdaq strength holds. On the China side, economists cited by CNBC expect Chinese authorities to step up targeted policy support if industrial profit growth continues to slow after July’s deceleration, which would be the more direct test of whether the chip industry can keep offsetting weakness elsewhere in the economy.
Asian closes taken after each market’s close on 27 August 2026. Commodity futures are intraday quotes captured before the day’s settlement windows, taken at 10:26 to 10:29 GMT. Currencies, rates, volatility and crypto are a near-simultaneous intraday capture taken in the same window. The United States Treasury’s par yield curve is its official reading for 26 August, its most recent published reading at our capture. Middle East and European reference closes are carried verbatim from our own wraps of 26 August; United States reference closes are carried verbatim from our own wrap of 26 August. Sources: CNBC for index, commodity, currency, volatility and crypto levels; the United States Department of the Treasury for the 10-year yield; the National Bureau of Statistics of China; the Central Bank of Kuwait; the Central Bank of Egypt; The Edge calculations.
What is ahead
The Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium runs from Thursday to Saturday on the theme of financial innovation and its implications for payments and policy, with keynote remarks from Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh on Friday. Boursa Kuwait and the Muscat Stock Exchange are both closed on Thursday 27 August for the birth of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, and both resume on Sunday 30 August. The Edge did not verify the Thursday schedules of the other regional exchanges and makes no claim about them.
