South Korea's Kospi wavers as SK Hynix jumps on Nvidia forecast

South Korea's Kospi index wavered Thursday after the Bank of Korea raised interest rates for the second time to combat inflation, while tech stocks reacted to Nvidia's strong earnings report. The central bank hiked its benchmark rate by 0.25 percentage points to 3%, the highest since January last year, following data showing core inflation at its highest since 2023. Rising fuel prices from the US-Iran conflict and strong wage growth contributed to the increase. Nvidia reported quarterly revenue of $96 billion and forecast $106 billion for the next quarter, boosting chip suppliers. SK Hynix rose 3.67%, Samsung Electronics gained 2.50%, and SK Square climbed 2.27%. The Kospi has recovered from its yearly low of 5,280 to 6,915 points.