Morning Bid: Stocks surge in Seoul as Samsung surpasses Berkshire

Reuters Wed, May 6, 2026 at 6:33 AM GMT+2 2 min read

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A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Gregor Stuart Hunter

Global stocks were at record highs on Wednesday ‌as some of Asia's biggest markets returned from a holiday in ‌euphoric mood and resumed ramping up AI-related trades.

A rally in semiconductor shares sent South Korea's benchmark ​KOSPI index above 7,000 points in a historic first as the Seoul market reopened, with Samsung Electronics up 13% and breaking the $1 trillion market-cap barrier. Having recently overtaken Berkshire Hathaway, the electronics giant is now closing in on Walmart.

Oil prices tumbled for ‌a second day after ⁠U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he would pause an operation to help escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz, ⁠citing "great progress" toward a comprehensive agreement with Iran.

Chinese stocks hit their highest since January 2022 as trading resumed, after a private gauge of the services sector showed activity ​expanded at ​a faster pace in April, helped by ​stronger growth in new business. ‌Japanese markets remained closed for a holiday.

MSCI's All-Country World Index hit a record high, as did its Emerging Markets benchmark and its broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan.

Risk-sensitive currencies surged, with the Australian dollar rising 0.7% to an almost four-year high of $0.72400 and its New Zealand counterpart rose 0.9% to $0.59380, its strongest ‌in almost two months.

In early European trades, pan-region ​futures were up 0.6%, German DAX futures were ​up 0.4% and FTSE futures ​were up 1%.

Key developments that could influence markets on Wednesday:

• ‌Company earnings: Arm Holdings, Novo Nordisk, Walt ​Disney, Uber, Equinor, ​Apollo Global Management, CVS Health, Infineon, BMW, Telecom Italia

• French data: Industrial Output for March, HCOB Services PMI for April

• German data: HCOB Services ​PMI for April

• UK data: ‌S&P Global Service PMI for April, Total Reserve Assets for April

• ​German 7-year government debt auction

• UK 9-year government debt auction

(Reporting by ​Gregor Stuart Hunter; Editing by Christopher Cushing)

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