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Korea Jumps 4.4%, SoftBank 14% as AI Trade Rebounds

AI Trade — Korea Jumps 4.4%, SoftBank Soars 14% After Wall Street's Best Day Since April

The S&P 500 gained 2.35% on Monday and chip stocks 7.5%, with AMD up 13% and Nvidia down 4.3% as its board investigates its chief executive. Oil fell again on signs that Washington is holding back on Iran. US inflation data for October lands at 13:30 UTC, this time without an annual rate; CoreWeave reports after the close.

In this edition

AMD ASML BE RSP IWM XLI XLK XLE

The Morning 10 Tue, Nov 10, 2026 ~90 seconds 08:50 CET

The ten points

Wall Street started the week with its best day since April. The S&P 500 rose 2.35% on Monday, the Nasdaq-100 3.4% and chip stocks 7.5%, a week after the market sold everything tied to the AI build-out. Oil helped: the Brent oil fund fell another 5.3% after President Trump said new strikes on Iran were unlikely while talks continue. The VIX, Wall Street's fear gauge, dropped from 25.6 to 19.9.

Asia carried the move on overnight. Korea's Kospi, which had missed Monday's bounce, jumped 4.4%. Japan's Nikkei rose 2.9% and closed back above 60,000, and Taiwan added 2.5% to Monday's 4.9%. SK Hynix gained 6.7% and SoftBank about 14% ahead of its results today.

Two things did not join in. Nvidia fell 4.3% on a day the chip fund rose 7.5%, as the board's investigation of its chief executive entered its first trading day; AMD jumped 13%. And one good day does not repair a week: chip stocks have won back about half of last week's loss, our build-out index a bit more than a third. The next test is the US inflation report at 13:30 UTC.

  1. AI Trade in Asia — Kospi +4.4%, Nikkei +2.9% and back above 60,000, Taiwan +2.5%
  2. Asia's AI Bellwethers — SK Hynix +6.7%, SoftBank +14%, Kioxia +9%
  3. Europe — ASML +4.7%, Infineon +6.3% on Monday; Infineon reports today
  4. Wall Street on Monday — S&P 500 +2.35%, its best day since April; fear gauge under 20
  5. Chips Without Nvidia — Chip fund +7.5%, AMD +13.3%; Nvidia −4.3%
  6. Oil, Bonds, Gold, Bitcoin — Oil fund −5.3%, bonds flat, gold 4,127, Bitcoin under 75,000
  7. US Inflation — October consumer prices at 13:30 UTC, this time without an annual rate
  8. AI Indices — Rubin +5.6%, AEI +3.9%; about a third of last week's loss is back
  9. AI Power and Software — Constellation and NRG jump 10% on results; monday.com sinks 9%
  10. Today — CoreWeave after the close; four earnings-record grades at 21:00 UTC

  1. AI Trade in Asia — Kospi +4.4%, Nikkei +2.9% and back above 60,000, Taiwan +2.5%

    Structure
    What
    Asia added a second day to the rebound in the markets where the chips are made. Korea's Kospi closed at 5,239.13, up 4.39%, after trading as high as 5,300.92 (+5.6%). Japan's Nikkei rose 2.87% to 60,459.58, with a high of 60,743.97. Taiwan's TAIEX gained 2.52% to 42,711.92, on top of Monday's 4.94%. Outside the chip markets the day was quiet: Hong Kong's Hang Seng was up 0.5% at 24,563 in afternoon trade and Shanghai was flat.
    If
    The Kospi gives back today's gain on Wednesday. It has regained only about a quarter of last week's 11.7% loss, against more than half in Taiwan and Japan.
    Why
    Asia is the cleanest overnight read of the AI hardware trade, because the chip makers trade there before New York opens. Korea did not join Monday's bounce and caught up today; Taiwan and Japan added to theirs. Markets with little chip exposure barely moved — this is a rebound in the AI trade, not in Asia as a whole.
    Then
    All three are still below where they ended October: Korea by 8.6%, Taiwan by 5.5%, Japan by 4.5%. A third up day would start to look like more than a bounce after a sell-off.

  2. Asia's AI Bellwethers — SK Hynix +6.7%, SoftBank +14%, Kioxia +9%

    Structure
    What
    SK Hynix opened 6.9% higher at 1,214,000 won, reached 1,242,000 (+9.3%) and closed at 1,212,000, up 6.7%. Samsung Electronics traded between 196,400 and 201,500 won and closed at 198,900, up 4.7%. TSMC closed at its high of the day, 2,285 Taiwan dollars, up 2.2% after Monday's 4.7%. In Tokyo, SoftBank Group rose 13.9% and was up as much as 17.2%; it reports its half-year results today. Kioxia gained 9.2%, Tokyo Electron 6.1% and Advantest 4.6%.
    If
    SK Hynix falls back below Monday's close of 1,136,000 won this week.
    Why
    On Monday the Korean memory makers sold their early gains and only TSMC held. Today memory led. The part of the supply chain that fell hardest last week is now being bought, which is what a rebound looks like when it broadens.
    Then
    SoftBank is the name to follow this afternoon. Its results are the first from a large AI investor since last week's sell-off.
  3. Agentic Ecosystem Index The AI-opex complex as an index — the operational layer where agents meet the P&L. Open the index →

  4. Europe — ASML +4.7%, Infineon +6.3% on Monday; Infineon reports today

    Structure
    What
    Europe's AI-infrastructure names rebounded on Monday with Wall Street. ASML rose 4.7% to 1,343.80 euros, ASM International 3.4% and BE Semiconductor 2.5%; Infineon gained 6.3%. In power and grid equipment, Prysmian rose 5.9%, Siemens Energy 5.1%, Siemens 2.8%, Schneider Electric 2.5% and ABB 2.4%. The Euro Stoxx 50 closed up 1.94% at 6,290.45 and the DAX up 1.73% at 26,267.19. Infineon publishes its full-year results today (earnings calendar).
    If
    The chip-equipment makers fade at today's open while the grid suppliers hold.
    Why
    Europe has few AI platforms but many suppliers to the build-out: the machines that make the chips and the cables, switchgear and turbines that power the data centers. They fell with the US build-out names last week and bounced with them on Monday.
    Then
    Infineon's outlook is the day's company news in Europe: it sells power chips into AI servers as well as into cars, so it reads on both.

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C · point 11 · members

Today in line 11: what one good day repairs and what it does not, index by index; why the rally left Nvidia behind; the two ways Thomas reads the chip chart; and what the inflation number at 13:30 UTC can change for a rally that bonds have not joined.

The privileged, actionable read — what we do, and at which level — is in point 11, for members only.

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