{"id":62175,"date":"2026-05-20T23:38:29","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T03:38:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/kospi-surges-7-as-south-korea-announces-24-hour-fx-trading-tesla-launches-fsd-in-china\/62175\/"},"modified":"2026-05-20T23:38:29","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T03:38:29","slug":"kospi-surges-7-as-south-korea-announces-24-hour-fx-trading-tesla-launches-fsd-in-china","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/kospi-surges-7-as-south-korea-announces-24-hour-fx-trading-tesla-launches-fsd-in-china\/62175\/","title":{"rendered":"KOSPI Surges 7% as South Korea Announces 24-Hour FX Trading; Tesla Launches FSD in China"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>South Korea\u2019s KOSPI index surged 7%<\/strong> in a massive rally driven by semiconductor momentum, with <strong>SK Hynix<\/strong> (<a href=\"\/stock\/000660.KS\">000660.KS<\/a>) gaining <strong>10%<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>South Korea will launch 24-hour trading<\/strong> for its dollar-won spot market starting <strong>July 6<\/strong>, a major step toward internationalizing its currency and seeking MSCI developed-market status.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Tesla<\/strong> (<a href=\"\/stock\/TSLA\">TSLA<\/a>) has officially rolled out its <strong>Full Self-Driving (FSD)<\/strong> system in China, significantly heating up the autonomous driving race against domestic rivals like BYD and Xpeng.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Geopolitical risks persist<\/strong> as the International Maritime Council warned that mine clearance in the <strong>Strait of Hormuz<\/strong> will take weeks, while Iran reviews new diplomatic positions from the U.S.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Analyst sentiment was mixed<\/strong> for major tech and retail players; <strong>NVIDIA<\/strong> (<a href=\"\/stock\/NVDA\">NVDA<\/a>) and <strong>Analog Devices<\/strong> (<a href=\"\/stock\/ADI\">ADI<\/a>) received target hikes, while <strong>Intuit<\/strong> (<a href=\"\/stock\/INTU\">INTU<\/a>) and <strong>Lowe\u2019s<\/strong> (<a href=\"\/stock\/LOW\">LOW<\/a>) saw their targets slashed.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>South Korea\u2019s financial markets dominated headlines today as the <strong>KOSPI<\/strong> index climbed a staggering <strong>7%<\/strong>, fueled by intense buying momentum in the technology sector. Leading the charge, <strong>SK Hynix<\/strong> (<a href=\"\/stock\/000660.KS\">000660.KS<\/a>) saw its stock price jump <strong>10%<\/strong>, extending a recent rally as global demand for AI-related hardware remains robust.<\/p>\n<p>In a landmark move to modernize its financial infrastructure, the South Korean finance ministry confirmed that <strong>24-hour trading<\/strong> for the dollar-won spot market will commence on <strong>July 6<\/strong>. This shift is intended to eliminate time-zone gaps for global investors and is a critical component of Seoul&#39;s broader strategy to secure an upgrade to developed-market status from index providers like MSCI.<\/p>\n<p>In the electric vehicle sector, <strong>Tesla<\/strong> (<a href=\"\/stock\/TSLA\">TSLA<\/a>) has intensified the competitive landscape in Asia by launching its <strong>Full Self-Driving (FSD)<\/strong> software in China. The rollout follows regulatory approvals and a high-profile visit by CEO Elon Musk, placing immediate pressure on domestic EV manufacturers who have long held a home-turf advantage in localized autonomous features.<\/p>\n<p>Geopolitical tensions continue to weigh on global trade and sentiment, particularly in the Middle East. The <strong>International Maritime Council<\/strong> stated today that it will take several weeks to complete mine clearance operations in the <strong>Strait of Hormuz<\/strong>, a vital chokepoint for global oil supplies. Meanwhile, Iran\u2019s <strong>Nour News<\/strong> reported that the Foreign Ministry is currently reviewing positions received from the U.S., suggesting a fluid diplomatic situation.<\/p>\n<p>On the analyst front, <strong>Melius Research<\/strong> raised its price target for <strong>NVIDIA<\/strong> (<a href=\"\/stock\/NVDA\">NVDA<\/a>) to <strong>$400<\/strong> from $380, citing continued strength in data center demand. <strong>Needham<\/strong> also showed optimism for the semiconductor space, increasing <strong>Analog Devices\u2019<\/strong> (<a href=\"\/stock\/ADI\">ADI<\/a>) target to <strong>$440<\/strong>. Conversely, <strong>Barclays<\/strong> reduced its target for <strong>Intuit Inc<\/strong> (<a href=\"\/stock\/INTU\">INTU<\/a>) to <strong>$443<\/strong> from $540, and <strong>Piper Sandler<\/strong> lowered <strong>Lowe\u2019s<\/strong> (<a href=\"\/stock\/LOW\">LOW<\/a>) target to <strong>$276<\/strong> amid shifting consumer spending patterns.<\/p>\n<p>Currency and regional markets showed a more cautious tone compared to the Korean rally. The <strong>British Pound<\/strong> traded flat as cooling UK inflation\u2014which slowed to <strong>2.8%<\/strong> in April\u2014and ongoing Iran tensions capped any potential upside. In Southeast Asia, <strong>Indonesia\u2019s main stock index<\/strong> declined nearly <strong>2%<\/strong>, falling to <strong>6,196.1<\/strong> as investors reacted to regional volatility and mixed sentiment across Asian currencies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways South Korea\u2019s KOSPI index surged 7% in a massive rally driven by semiconductor momentum, with SK Hynix (000660.KS) [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":50383,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"rank_math_schema_Article":[],"rank_math_focus_keyword":[],"rank_math_description":[],"financial_data_references":[],"stock_symbols_mentioned":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[5012],"tags":[5136,4,5137,41,633,1195,1653,1659,4223,4664,4824],"class_list":["post-62175","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-breaking-news","tag-south-korea","tag-tsla","tag-kospi","tag-intu","tag-nvda","tag-low","tag-fsd","tag-adi","tag-inflation","tag-iran","tag-geopolitics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62175","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62175"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62175\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50383"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62175"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62175"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62175"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}