Morning Bid: Stocks surge in Seoul as Samsung surpasses Berkshire
A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Gregor Stuart Hunter
Global stocks were at record highs on Wednesday as some of Asia's biggest markets returned from a holiday in euphoric mood and resumed ramping up AI-related trades.
A rally in semiconductor shares sent South Korea's benchmark KOSPI index above 7,000 points in a historic first as the Seoul market reopened, with Samsung Electronics up 13% and breaking the $1 trillion market-cap barrier. Having recently overtaken Berkshire Hathaway, the electronics giant is now closing in on Walmart.
Oil prices tumbled for a second day after U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he would pause an operation to help escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz, citing "great progress" toward a comprehensive agreement with Iran.
Chinese stocks hit their highest since January 2022 as trading resumed, after a private gauge of the services sector showed activity expanded at a faster pace in April, helped by stronger growth in new business. Japanese markets remained closed for a holiday.
MSCI's All-Country World Index hit a record high, as did its Emerging Markets benchmark and its broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan.
Risk-sensitive currencies surged, with the Australian dollar rising 0.7% to an almost four-year high of $0.72400 and its New Zealand counterpart rose 0.9% to $0.59380, its strongest in almost two months.
In early European trades, pan-region futures were up 0.6%, German DAX futures were up 0.4% and FTSE futures were up 1%.
Key developments that could influence markets on Wednesday:
• Company earnings: Arm Holdings, Novo Nordisk, Walt Disney, Uber, Equinor, Apollo Global Management, CVS Health, Infineon, BMW, Telecom Italia
• French data: Industrial Output for March, HCOB Services PMI for April
• German data: HCOB Services PMI for April
• UK data: S&P Global Service PMI for April, Total Reserve Assets for April
• German 7-year government debt auction
• UK 9-year government debt auction
(Reporting by Gregor Stuart Hunter; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
Copyright Reuters or USA Today Network via Reuters Connect.
This story was originally published May 5, 2026 at 9:33 PM.