TradingKey – On August 14, Japanese and South Korean stock markets extended their strong performance in early trading. The South Korean Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 2.67% early in the session to 6,995.14 points, approaching the 7,000-point mark, as investors focus on whether KOSPI can achieve a fifth consecutive session of gains; the Nikkei 225 Index (JPN225) opened higher and expanded its gain to 1.39% at 69,256.31 points.

Source: TradingView

Semiconductor and memory chip stocks continued to lead gains. SK Hynix rose 6.03% in early trading to 1,689,000 won (about $1,192); Samsung Electronics rose 2.05% to 273,500 won.

In the Japanese market, Kioxia jumped 7.20% to 55,530 yen (about $348); SoftBank Group rose 5.33% to 5,872…