On July 31, South Korean stocks rallied on Friday, rebounding from a sharp decline in previous days, as spending plans by major tech companies reignited investor optimism about the artificial intelligence trade frenzy. The benchmark KOSPI index surged up to 14%, marking the largest single-day intraday gain in history. Foreign media analysis attributed the surge to SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won's rare direct purchase of the company's shares, which sent SK Hynix shares soaring as much as 28% in early trading; memory chip peer Samsung Electronics also rose 26%. The KOSPI index had plunged a cumulative 17% over the previous three trading sessions, mainly due to concerns over rising debt levels among global big tech companies. The sharp rally driven by AI this year has become increasingly volatile since the introduction of leveraged products in May. "The recent accelerated sell-off in AI tech driven by deleveraging, de-risking, position closures, and other liquidity factors may be stabilizing," said Shawn Oh, head of Korean spot equities at NH Investment Securities. Meanwhile, Japanese stocks were also boosted, with the Nikkei 225 index rising 4% in early trading, breaking above 64,000 points. (Jin Shi)