Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) and US President Donald Trump visit the Temple of Heaven in Beijing on May 14, 2026. Xi warned Trump that the Taiwan issue could plunge their two countries into “conflict” if not handled properly, in a dramatic opening as a summit of major powers set to tackle a host of thorny issues began in Beijing. / AFP via Getty Images)
Brendan Smialowski | Afp | Getty Images
South Korea’s benchmark Kospi pared earlier gains by 1.35% on Friday, retreating to a new record above 8,000 as broader Asia-Pacific markets fell. Investors were tracking the second day of high-profile talks between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The smaller Kosdaq fell 2%. Japanese Nikkei 225 fell 0.9% and the Topix was flat. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.25%.
In Hong Kong Hang Seng Index slipped 0.39% while the CSI 300 opened flat.
The Kospi surpassed 7,000 for the first time on May 5 after heavyweight Samsung Electronics hit a record high to surpass $1 trillion in market capitalization.
The record breaking comes amid concerns of concentration risks, particularly in the stock of artificial intelligence. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix together accounted for a record 42.2% of the Kospi in May, according to Manulife Investment Management.
Earlier gains in South Korean markets reflected investors’ hope that the Trump-Xi talks could ease tensions over trade and technology exports, particularly chipmakers and AI-related stocks.
Shares in Samsung Electronics fell 1% after a labor union said the company had proposed an unconditional restart of wage negotiations. The union said it is determined to return to negotiations after June 7, and its leader added that workers will continue to exercise the rights guaranteed under the South Korean constitution.
Trump arrived in Beijing on Wednesday for a highly anticipated summit, joined by a delegation of American business leaders, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Nvidia chief Jensen Huang.
Xi warned Trump on Thursday that Washington and Beijing could face “conflicts and even conflicts” if the sensitive issue of Taiwan’s independence is not handled properly.
Failure to handle the issue “properly” could put “all relations at great risk,” Xi was quoted as saying.
US stock futures were little changed on Thursday night. The future of the Dow down 10 points, or 0.02%. S&P 500 futures changed to 0.02% per week Nasdaq 100 futures changed to -0.06% for the week.
At night in the US, i The Dow Jones Industrial Average it also took 50,000 from behind Cisco Systems reported strong earnings. The 30-stock index shed 370.26 points, or 0.75%, to end at 50,063.46.
I S&P 500 rose 0.77% to close at 7,501.24, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.88% to 26,635.22. Those two indexes hit all-time intraday highs and record closes.
— CNBC’s Justina Lee, Sean Conlon and Lisa Kailai Han contributed to this report
