South Korea's benchmark KOSPI index (the Korea Composite Stock Price Index, the main gauge of Seoul's stock market) opened sharply higher on Wednesday, rising nearly 2 percent to around 7,154 points, driven by strong gains in semiconductor stocks and improving investor sentiment. Samsung Electronics climbed 2.7 percent and chip maker SK Hynix gained over 2 percent, riding a wave of enthusiasm for artificial intelligence-related stocks that pushed the U.S. Nasdaq Composite to back-to-back record closes. Ongoing diplomatic efforts to ease Middle East tensions also lifted sentiment, contributing to a drop in oil prices and strengthening the Korean won against the U.S. dollar.