Japanese and Korean Stocks Rally Together; KOSPI Surges Past 7,000 to 15-Day High, Yen Briefly Breaks 153

Tuesday saw South Korea's KOSPI Composite Index surge 2.1%, reclaiming the 7,000-point level for the first time in 15 trading days, led by Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. The MSCI Asia-Pacific Index rose 0.4% overall, but Japan's TOPIX and Australia's ASX 200 each slipped around 0.6%. The yen briefly strengthened to 152.89 during trading, its highest level since February. Spot gold rose 0.7%, while copper futures on the LME hit a record high again on Tuesday.