A powerful and divergent wave of optimism is sweeping across the Asia-Pacific, as a bullish forecast upgrade from the International Monetary Fund and a tantalizing breakthrough in trade talks send markets in South Korea and India soaring, even as Wall Street’s own “fear gauge” flashes red.
This is a story of a region finding its own powerful reasons to rally, a stark and defiant break from the nervous mood that has gripped the West.
A record-setting day in Seoul: The IMF effect
The undisputed star of the session is South Korea, where the benchmark Kospi index has advanced 1.09 percent to hit a new all-time high.
The rally was ignited by a significant and unexpected vote of confidence from the International Monetary Fund, which raised the country’s 2025 growth forecast and, in a broader assessment, stated that the global impact of US tariffs has been “at the modest end of the range.”
This bullish macro outlook was amplified by a direct and powerful signal from Washington. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC that the White House was “about to finish up” trade negotiations with the Asian nation.
“The devil’s in the details, but we are ironing out the details,” he added. The market reacted with immediate and powerful approval, with shares of the heavyweight Samsung Electronics rising to an all-time high and the automaker Hyundai Motor surging around 8 percent.
A different, more paradoxical rally is taking place in Australia, where the S&P/ASX 200 has also risen to a new record. But in a strange twist, the catalyst for the rally was not good news, but bad.
The country’s unemployment rate jumped to a near four-year high in September, a weak jobs reading that has decisively paved the way for further interest rate cuts from the nation’s central bank.
A bullish wave hits Dalal Street
This positive sentiment is also being felt on Dalal Street, where the Indian benchmark indices have opened sharply higher.
The S&P BSE Sensex has added over 350 points in early trade, a powerful rally fueled by positive comments from the US that have signaled a potential breakthrough in the long-running US-India trade dispute.
This broad Asian rally is a stunning act of defiance, a clear and forceful break from a jittery Wall Street. While the S&P 500 managed to close higher overnight, the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX), Wall Street’s “fear gauge,” has been trending higher all week, a sign of deep and persistent anxiety. For now, it is an anxiety that Asia is choosing to ignore.
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