Korea’s Stock Market Surges Another 3.5% Overnight. Intel, Coherent, and Micron Among Most Active Premarket Stocks in US Trading.
South Korean memory stocks just posted their biggest surge in months while U.S. premarket tells a far more complicated story, with Coherent falling despite a beat and Micron moving in the opposite direction from its Asian peers.
This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them.
Two stories set the tone before the U.S. open: an AI-fueled memory melt-up in Asia, and crude caught between softening demand and Middle East supply risk.
Korea Confirms the Memory Rotation
South Korea’s Kospi surged overnight, pushing into technical bull market territory just over a month after a historic sell-off, with the rebound from the July 30 low now roughly 23%. SK Hynix finished up 5.9% and Samsung Electronics up 4.9%, both riding renewed optimism on AI infrastructure spending. Fundstrat’s Mark Newton says memory shares are outperforming the broader tech sector for the first time since June, calling Korea and memory “the right vehicles for near-term risk-on exposure,” though he warns the move could stall if Treasury yields and the dollar climb.
Oil: Demand Down, Supply Tight
Front-month Brent was down 1.4% at $87.66 and WTI down 1.5% at $82 as of 4:39 a.m. ET, after the IEA cut its demand outlook citing the Strait of Hormuz closure. A grounded tanker leaking an estimated 800,000 barrels of sanctioned Russian oil near Oman keeps a floor under prices. Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM | XOM Price Prediction) is the obvious barometer.
U.S. Premarket: Tech Leads
Futures are mixed, with tech dominating active names. Coherent (NYSE:COHR) beat on the top line and guided higher, with CEO Jim Anderson flagging “exceptional customer demand,” yet shares are down about 3.7% premarket, an expectations reset after a big run. Super Micro (NASDAQ:SMCI), Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), and Micron (NASDAQ:MU) round out the active list. Notably, Micron is marginally lower premarket, diverging from its Korean memory peers which were reacting to positive news out of U.S. markets yesterday.
Excellent earnings from Nebius (Nasdaq: NBIS) and other ‘neoclouds’ fueled much of the optimism during yesterday’s trading. Super Micro beating on earnings was another major catalyst and the stock is up another 1.8% in premarket trading. Major earnings this morning include drone maker Ondas, neocloud Fermi, and space company Intuitive Machines (Nasdaq: LUNR).
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
Eric Bleeker has been investing for more than 20 years. He began his career working at Microsoft before joining Motley Fool, one of the largest publishers of financial research. In his 15 years at Motley Fool Eric served as the General Manager for Fool.com and led coverage in the Technology & Telecom sector. In addition, he was a featured columnist and has hosted dozens of investing seminars attended by more than a million total investors. Eric has more than 1,000 financial bylines to his name and has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, CNBC, Fox Business, and many other leading publications. He is currently focused on artificial intelligence investing and is a CFA Charterholoder.
