Asian markets rise; South Korea surges over 5%

July 22, 2026 (MLN): Asian stock markets traded mostly higher on Wednesday, led by a sharp rally in South Korea, as investors looked ahead to a busy day of corporate earnings while optimism around artificial intelligence (AI) supported technology shares.

South Korea's Kospi jumped more than 5%, making it the best-performing market in the region, while the Kosdaq gained 2%. Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.34%, with the broader Topix index remaining largely unchanged. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 edged up 0.12%.

Elsewhere in the region, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slipped 0.66%, while China's CSI 300 advanced 0.15%, according to CNBC.

The positive sentiment followed a strong overnight session on Wall Street, where major U.S. indexes ended a three-day losing streak after stronger-than-expected earnings from companies including 3M and General Motors helped ease concerns over corporate performance.

Technology stocks also gained momentum, with semiconductor shares rallying as investors returned to AI-related investments.

Market participants are now turning their attention to another wave of earnings reports due later on Wednesday, including results from ServiceNow, IBM, Tesla, Texas Instruments, Alphabet and AT&T.

Investors are expected to closely monitor management commentary on AI spending, cloud demand, corporate technology budgets and business outlooks for the second half of the year.

The current earnings season will be closely watched to assess whether continued investment in AI infrastructure and software is translating into stronger business performance and supporting elevated technology valuations.

Meanwhile, oil prices extended recent gains amid rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. Brent crude settled 2% higher at $91.01 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose 2% to $84.91 per barrel.

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