Samsung and SK Hynix now account for ~13% of the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, the benchmark for more than $1 TRILLION in assets under management.
SK Hynix alone now commands a weighting equivalent to Tencent and Alibaba combined, after more than doubling in market value this year. Together with TSMC, the 3 chipmakers account for more than 25% of the entire index and have contributed over 70% of its gains so far in 2026. This is reminiscent of late 2020, when Chinese companies accounted for more than 40% of the MSCI Emerging Markets Index. When Chinese stocks peaked in February 2021 and subsequently collapsed, the broader EM index entered a 15-16 month bear market, falling ~50% from peak to trough. Even emerging market indexes are extremely concentrated. Source: Global markets Investors, Bloomberg Opinion
BLOODBATH IN SOUTH KOREA.
KOSPI hit a new ATH of 8,000 today and then crashed 8.4% in the same session, wiping ₩509 Trillion ($370 billion) in 6 hours. Samsung, which makes up 42% of the entire index, crashed 8.61% Source: Bull Theory
Japan Producer Prices Jump by Most Since 2014, Backing BOJ Hike
Source: Bloomberg
Japan's 20Y bond yield rises as high as 3.511%, highest since 1996 as global interest rates go vertical
With the long bond over 5% and the 10yr dancing around 4.50%, maybe it is worth to have a look at it again... Kantro had nice look back at the median weekly stock returns versus yields - see chart below. Source: Kantro, RBC
Another day and another new all-time high for Korea Kospi with Samsung and Hynix again on fire.
AI memory changed the rankings fast. Samsung Electronics is now a $1T+ company. SK Hynix is sitting near JPMorgan by market cap. Korea is not a side story in AI anymore. Source: koreanstockguy on X
₹5.5 trillion has now been wiped out from the Indian stock market today.
Top 4 losers: State Bank of India (SBI) down -4.14%, banking sector pricing in a full economic slowdown as India's energy crisis deepens. Titan Company down -6.72%, PM Modi directly asked 1.4 billion Indians to stop buying gold for a year. Titan makes jewellery. ABB India down -8.77%, capital goods and manufacturing collapsing as energy costs make industrial operations unviable. IndiGo down 4.8%, jet fuel costs have exploded and PM Modi just discouraged all foreign travel. India's forex reserves have fallen by $38 billion since the war started as the RBI has been selling dollars to defend the rupee. At the current rate of drawdown, India has roughly 8 months of import cover remaining. The rupee hit an all time low of 95.23 against the dollar today. Every $10 per barrel increase in crude oil prices raises India's annual import bill by approximately $13–$14 billion. Source: Bull Theory
Japan's Ministry of Finance appears to be intervening in currency markets repeatedly:
The Japanese yen surged +1.8% in under 30 minutes during Asian trading on Wednesday, briefly touching 155.04 per US Dollar, the latest in a series of sharp moves consistent with official intervention. This comes after Japan's first intervention since 2024 on April 30, when Bank of Japan account analysis indicated authorities spent ~$34.5 billion to defend the yen. Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs estimates Japan still has enough reserves to intervene ~30 more times at this scale. The 157 level is emerging as the new line in the sand for Japanese authorities, with the Ministry of Finance warning speculators last week that "the timing for taking bold steps is nearing." Japan is desperate to prevent the Yen from weakening past 160 per US Dollar. Source: Bloomberg, Global Markets Investor
South Korean stocks have more than tripled over the last 16 months, trouncing every other country.
Source: Charlie Bilello
