Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang fuels South Korea stock surge

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang drew attention at a trade show in Taiwan while investors piled into South Korean tech shares. LG Electronics jumped 30% for a second straight session, lifting its gains this year to more than 300%. Samsung Electronics rose 10%, pushing its year-to-date increase to about 190%.

South Korea's Kospi index climbed more than 4% and has more than doubled this year. The rally reflected bets that South Korean firms will be major beneficiaries of Nvidia's expanding AI ecosystem, and was buoyed by expectations that Huang will travel to South Korea later this week to meet executives, including LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo.

The move into Korean stocks was also backed by fresh evidence of booming semiconductor demand: in May, the country's semiconductor exports surged nearly 170% to a record high, helping overall exports post their strongest growth in more than four decades. Analysts say the momentum could continue.

South Korea, Taiwan

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