KOSPI Set to Extend Gains as Tech Strength, Easing Oil Lift Asian Markets

South Korea's KOSPI may add to Tuesday's sharp rally on Wednesday, buoyed by optimism over technology shares and falling oil prices. The index closed up 168.87 points, or 3.09 percent, at 5,638.34, just below the 5,640-point plateau. Tuesday's advance was led by the technology, semiconductor and financial sectors, with volume of 183.13 million shares worth 15.29 trillion won. Gainers outpaced decliners 593 to 274. The upbeat tone follows a cautiously optimistic Wall Street session in which the NASDAQ rallied 1.18 percent to 26,477.81 and the S&P 500 added 0.60 percent to 7,722.60, while the Dow edged up 0.03 percent to 52,377.57. Tech stocks continued recovering from last week's pullback amid renewed AI optimism after Anthropic publicly filed for an IPO on Monday. Nvidia (NVDA) and Meta (META) also announced a partnership to expand work on the Muse model family.