Kospi Hits Record as Asian Markets Rally Ahead of Trump–Xi Talks

Asian stocks ended the week higher, with South Korea’s Kospi surging 2.5% as traders welcomed news that U.S. President Donald Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping will meet next week. The rally reflected optimism that the talks, set for Thursday in Seoul after Trump’s visits to Malaysia and Japan, could ease trade tensions and revive regional sentiment.

South Korea’s won strengthened 0.11% to 1,434.7 per dollar after the finance ministry said it stood ready to stabilize the market if volatility worsens. The won remains down more than 4% against the dollar over the past three months but is still up nearly 2.9% for the year.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.35%, while the Topix added 0.48% after data showed core inflation climbing to 2.9% in September, matching expectations and marking the first acceleration since May. Headline inflation also edged up from 2.7%, keeping the Bank of Japan’s policy outlook under scrutiny as the yen hovered near ¥152 per dollar.

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Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index advanced 0.77%, and the mainland CSI 300 rose 1.18%. Australia’s ASX 200 slipped 0.15% after the Reserve Bank flagged plans to modernize its interbank settlement system.

Overnight on Wall Street, U.S. benchmarks extended gains, with the S&P 500 up 0.58%, the Nasdaq jumping 0.89%, and the Dow adding 0.31%. Tech leaders like Nvidia, Broadcom, and Oracle fueled the rally, underscoring renewed investor appetite for AI-linked equities as Asia’s markets echoed the positive tone.