Nikkei hits 63,000; Korea climbs to 7th

Asian equities are doing something rare right now — they’re not just rallying, they’re reshuffling the global leaderboard. On Thursday, May 7, Japan’s Nikkei 225 pushed past 63,000 for the first time intraday, and South Korea’s stock market overtook Canada by total value. That makes Korea the world’s seventh-largest equity market. The move matters because this is not a broad “everything up” story. It’s a very specific bet on AI hardware, exporters, and the companies that sit closest to the semiconductor boom. (money.usnews.com) ### Why did the Nikkei jump so hard? Japan’s rally looks like a mix of earnings, risk appetite, and sheer momentum. Reuters’ market wrap had the Nikkei surging past 61,000 on May 6, helped by strong corporate results and easing worries around the Middle East. By May 7, screens in Tokyo were showing the index above 63,000 for the first time. Trading Economics put the day’s level around 62,956, up 5.79% from the prior session. (money.usnews.com) ### Which Japanese stocks are doing the lifting? The winners are the names you’d expect in an AI-and-automation tape. Trading Economics highlighted gains in Advantest, SoftBank Group, Fujikura, Keyence, and Lasertec. That list tells you a lot. This is not just banks or defensives (money.usnews.com)t. (tradingeconomics.com) ### How did Korea pass Canada? The simple answer is speed. Bloomberg’s market-cap data, echoed across multiple pickups, showed Korea-listed companies at about $4.59 trillion, versus roughly $4.5 trillion for Canada. Korea’s market value has jumped 71% this year, while Canada’s is up about 7%. That gap is huge for just four months of trading. It means Korea didn’t edge past Canada — it sprinted past. (bloomberg.com) ### What’s powering Korea’s move? Chips, mostly. Samsung Electronics recently crossed the $1 trillion valuation mark, and SK Hynix has been one of the clearest public-market winners from high-bandwidth memory demand. Bloomberg also noted that overseas investors bought more than $2 billion of Kospi shares i(bloomberg.com)ign money chasing that theme aggressively. (moneycontrol.com) ### Is this just a one-day pop? Not really. Korea had already climbed past the UK into eighth place last week, then moved ahead of Canada into seventh. The Kospi has logged multiple 5%-plus daily jumps this year, and Bloomberg described 2026 gains approaching last year’s world-beating 76% return even though the year is still young. That kind of follow-through suggests a sustained positioning shift, not a random squeeze. (msn.com) ### Why does Canada matter as the comparison? Because Canada is a big, developed market with deep pension and commodity exposure. Passing it is a signal that investors are rewarding a different market mix. Canada gives you banks, energy, and materials. Korea gives you semiconductors, electronics, batteries, and industri(msn.com)ange. (ndtvprofit.com) ### What’s the catch? These moves are powerful, but they’re concentrated. If AI spending cools, or if chip pricing rolls over, the same concentration that drove the surge can work in reverse. Japan and Korea are benefiting from global liquidity and enthusiasm for hardware winners. But when a rally gets this steep, small changes in sentiment can hit hard. That’s the trade. (tradingeconomics.com) ### Bottom line This week’s milestone is less about a round number on the Nikkei than about where global equity money wants to be. Investors are crowding into North Asia because that’s where the listed AI supply chain is deepest. Japan is getting the index breakout. Korea is getting the ranking upgrade. Both are really the same story. (money.usnews.com)ast-61-000-for-first-time-on-earnings-mideast-optimism))