Memory-chip slump sinks South Korea's KOSPI, while Nikkei gains

KOSPI fell 0.5% Friday, heading for a 5% weekly loss, while Japan's Nikkei 225, down 0.9%, still gained 1.2% for the week. South Korea's index faces a seventh straight weekly drop after Thursday's 4.6% plunge, when Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix fell 6.3% and 10.4%. The two memory-chip firms make up about 53% of KOSPI. Investors await U.S. jobs data and rising oil prices, including Brent at $83.38, as factors that could widen or narrow the regional divergence.