South Korea's Kospi jumps over 2% after OpenAI unveils partnership with Samsung, SK Hynix

TOKYO, JAPAN – JULY 27: Pedestrians and shoppers walk through the Akihabara area on July 27, 2023 in Tokyo, Japan. Japan’s core consumer price index climbed by 3.3% in June, outpacing the US figure for the first time in eight years as the Bank of Japan holds its monetary policy meeting on July 27 and 28. (Photo by Tomohiro Ohsumi/Getty Images)

Tomohiro Ohsumi | Getty Images News | Getty Images

South Korea’s Kospi index jumped over 2% Thursday, lifted by heavyweight Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, which gained over 4% and 10%, respectively. Both companies announced a partnership with OpenAI late Wednesday to supply memory chips for the latter’s Stargate data centers.

Meanwhile, the Kosdaq rose 0.47%.

South Korea’s consumer price index climbed 2.1% year on year in September, more than the 2% rise expected by economists in a Reuters poll. The latest reading compares with the 1.7% growth in August.

The shutdown is expected to last at least three days, with the Senate set to be out of session Thursday stateside due to Yom Kippur, but traders are betting that the shutdown could drag on for nearly two weeks.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index advanced 1.04%, while the Topix was flat.

Australia’s ASX/S&P 200 rose 0.61% at the open.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was set to open lower, with its futures contract last trading at 26,840, against the index’s previous close of 26,855.56.

Chinese and Indian markets were closed for holidays.

U.S. equity futures were little changed in early Asian hours after the S&P 500 recorded a fresh high Wednesday stateside, as traders bet that the U.S. government shutdown would be short-lived.

Overnight, the broad market index gained 0.34% to close at 6,711.20. Earlier, it had hit a new all-time intraday high. The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.42% to settle at 22,755.16, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average traded up 43.21 points, or 0.09%, to finish at 46,441.10.

— CNBC’s Pia Singh and Sean Conlon contributed to this report.