Indian equities outperformed Asian peers on Thursday as South Korea’s chip-heavy Kospi triggered a trading halt after sharp losses in Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, while Indian benchmarks rallied on easing crude prices and broad-based domestic buying.
The contrast extends beyond a single session. Nifty was down 12.01% for the year, against gains of 36.74% in Korea, 30.36% in Japan and 62.97% in Taiwan. Over the past month, however, India’s benchmark lost just 0.98%, compared with a 14.22% slide in the Kospi, underscoring the difference between cushioning a correction and leading the region’s returns.
On Thursday, the NSE Nifty 50 closed 1.66%, or 374.65 points, higher at 22,997.35. The BSE Sensex rose 2.11%, or 1,533.72 points, to 74,315.61. In contrast, South Korea’s Kospi fell 7.57%, or 454.59 points, to 5,554.22, its lowest close since April 7.
The gap was unusually wide. Bloomberg reported that the Nifty rose as much as 1.8% intraday while the MSCI Asia Pacific index fell 3.1%, heading for its lowest close since July.
Devarsh Vakil, head of Prime Research at HDFC Securities, linked the preceding US technology selloff to inflation and interest-rate concerns. “U.S. stocks closed lower, led by technology, after a hotter-than-expected September CPI report raised fears of another Fed rate hike,” he said. “The odds of an October rate hike climbed to about 37% from 22%, and traders still expect a hike in December.”