Asian ETFs Rise 1.65% Amid Semiconductor Rally
Asian ETFs experienced notable gains last week, with the overall market rising by 2.72%. South Korea-focused ETFs saw even stronger performance, up 6.06%, largely driven by the success of NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) and its impact on the tech industry.
NVIDIA Benefits Strong Tailwinds
NVIDIA’s stock jumped by 10.27% over the week, pushing its year-to-date gain to 144.11%. This surge came after CEO Jen-Hsun Huang’s keynote speech at the Computex conference, where he unveiled the next-generation Rubin platform for 2026. This platform aims to launch new products on an annual cycle, highlighting the company’s advancements in AI technology. Additionally, the recent rise in the stock can also be partly credited to the 10-for-1 stock split that took effect after the closing bell on Friday.
South Korean Semiconductor Stocks Shine
NVIDIA’s rally has positively impacted other tech stocks within its value chain. In South Korea, SK Hynix, which supplies high-bandwidth memory to NVIDIA, and Hanmi Semiconductor, which provides TC (thermocompression) bonders to SK Hynix, saw significant gains. Hanmi Semiconductor’s stock soared by 155.26% this year, outperforming even NVIDIA’s impressive performance. On May 29th, despite a 1.67% drop in the KOSPI index due to broader market weakness, Hanmi Semiconductor rose by 3.8%, hitting a new high and entering the top 20 in KOSPI market capitalization.
Boost in South Korea-Focused ETFs
The rally in tech stocks has also positively affected South Korea-focused ETFs. The Franklin FTSE Korea UCITS ETF (LON:FLXK) rose by 6.08%, while the iShares MSCI Korea UCITS ETF (LON:IDKO) increased by 6.37%, underscoring the broader market strength.