The KOSPI index climbed almost 3% to an all-time high of 5,515.8 points

Most Asian stock markets rose on Thursday, with South Korea surging to record highs on sharp gains in chipmakers, while Japanese shares traded flat after hitting a new record high above 58,000 points amid “Takaichi trade” optimism.

In Seoul, the KOSPI index climbed almost 3% to an all-time high of 5,515.8 points, extending a rally driven by artificial intelligence-linked semiconductor demand.

Samsung Electronics surged more than 6% to record highs after a senior executive highlighted the company’s technological edge in next-generation HBM4 (high-bandwidth memory) chips, fuelling optimism over its production roadmap and competitiveness in advanced AI memory solutions.

Investors have increasingly bet that HBM4 will underpin the next leg of AI hardware growth, supporting margins and earnings visibility.

Shares of SK Hynix Inc also jumped 3.5%, riding expectations of sustained demand for premium memory chips used in AI servers.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose above 58,000 points for the first time, earlier in the day, marking a new record high before paring gains to trade little changed.

The broader TOPIX index also climbed 1.5% to an all-time high of 3,888.94 points.

The rally has been partly attributed to so-called “Takaichi trade” optimism, following Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s election victory.

Stock investors have welcomed her pro-growth stance, including policies aimed at supporting domestic industry, boosting defence spending, and maintaining accommodative financial conditions, which are seen as supportive for exporters and cyclical stocks.

S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.5%, and FTSE Straits Times index added 0.7%.

China’s blue-chip Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 index and the Shanghai Composite index were both largely muted.

Futures tied to U.S. stock indexes were little changed during Asian hours.