South Korea’s stock market soars as Samsung union calls off planned strike

Key points

• Benchmark KOSPI rises more than 8 percent following deal to avert strike at top memory chip maker.
• Click here to share on social media South Korea’s stock market has rallied following a last-minute deal to avert a strike that had threatened to disrupt the global supply of memory chips.
• Samsung Electronics and its union on Wednesday night announced a tentative agreement to settle a months-long standoff over pay, avoiding a planned 18-day walkout by some 48,000 employees.
• Market sentiment around artificial intelligence (AI) also got a boost from US chip giant Nvidia’s announcement of a record $58.3bn profit in the last quarter.
• South Korea’s benchmark KOSPI on Thursday soared more than 8 percent, continuing a remarkable run that has seen the index rise more than 80 percent since the start of the year.