Chinese President Xi Jinping (Republican) and US President Donald Trump will visit the Temple of Heaven in Beijing on May 14, 2026. The solemn opening salvo of a superpower summit to tackle a host of thorny issues began in Beijing on May 14, with Xi warning Trump that the Taiwan issue could push the two countries into “conflict” if mishandled. (Photo by: Brendan SMIALOWSKI/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Brendan Smialowski AFP | Getty Images
South Korean benchmark Kospi hit a record high on Friday, leading Asia-Pacific markets higher as investors tracked the second day of high-stakes talks between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The index rose more than 0.6% to more than 8,000, while the small-cap Kosdaq fell 0.4%.
Japanese Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.89%, and TOPIX rose 1.18%. In Australia, S&P/ASX 200 It increased by 0.42%.
hong kong Hang Seng Index Futures were at 26,341, just below the index’s last closing price of 26,389.04.
On May 5, the Kospi exceeded 7,000 for the first time after Samsung Electronics, a leading company in the index, reached a record high with a market capitalization of over $1 trillion.
This record streak comes amid concerns about concentration risk, particularly in artificial intelligence stocks. According to Manulife Investment Management, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix together accounted for 42.2% of Kospi in May, a record high.
The South Korean market’s rally also reflects investors’ optimism that a meeting between President Trump and President Xi could ease tensions over trade and technology exports, particularly chip makers and AI stocks.
President Trump arrived in Beijing on Wednesday for a high-profile summit, attended by a delegation of American business leaders, including: tesla CEO Elon Musk and Nvidia Commissioner Jensen Huang.
Mr. Xi warned Mr. Trump on Thursday that the United States and China could face “conflict and even conflict” if the sensitive issue of Taiwan’s independence is mishandled.
Xi said that failure to address the issue “appropriately” could “put the entire relationship at great risk.”
U.S. stock futures were almost unchanged Thursday night. dow futures It fell 10 points (0.02%). S&P500 futures It fell by 0.02%. Nasdaq 100 futures It rose by 0.06%.
One night in America Dow Jones Industrial Average I later got my 50,000 back. Cisco Systems reported strong earnings. The 30-stock index rose 370.26 points (0.75%) to close at 50,063.46.
of S&P500 It rose 0.77% to close at 7,501.24. Nasdaq Composite It rose 0.88% to 26,635.22. These two indexes hit new intraday highs and new closing records.
—CNBC’s Justina Lee, Sean Conlon and Lisa Kailai Han contributed to this report
