South Korean and Japanese stock markets opened significantly higher on Tuesday, with the South Korean benchmark index triggering a circuit breaker mechanism.

The KOSPI index surpassed 8,900 points, gaining over 5% intraday. Following a 5% rise in KOSPI 200 index futures, the Korea Exchange activated a market-wide circuit breaker, halting program trading for five minutes.

Among individual stocks, SK Hynix Inc shares surged 11%, while Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. shares rose 5%.

On Monday, memory chip giant SK Hynix filed registration documents with South Korea's Financial Supervisory Service and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The company plans to list American Depositary Receipts on the Nasdaq Global Select Market, aiming to raise up to 45.45 trillion won (approximately $29.4 billion). The offering is expected to commence on July 10 under the ticker symbol SKHY.

The company will issue approximately 17.79 million new shares, with every 10 ADRs representing one ordinary share. The final offering price will be determined via bookbuilding prior to the listing. The underwriting syndicate includes Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Citigroup, and JPMorgan.

If the offering reaches its maximum target, it would become the second-largest IPO in U.S. stock market history, following SpaceX.

Meanwhile, Japan's stock market also opened higher and extended gains rapidly. The Nikkei 225 index rose more than 2%, recently trading at 70,865.58 points.

On the news front, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Monday unveiled a long-term economic vision for Japan. The plan proposes cumulative investments exceeding 370 trillion yen (approximately $2.3 trillion) over a 14-year period ending March 2041, with a focus on boosting artificial intelligence and semiconductor sectors, while also investing in key industries such as defense, space, and shipbuilding.

According to official documents released following a policy advisory panel meeting, dedicated investment in AI and semiconductors under this plan will amount to 101.6 trillion yen. The plan also outlines expected economic impacts: by the 2040 fiscal year, semiconductor investments are projected to generate 443 trillion yen in economic value. Investments in physical AI and vertical AI are forecast to produce economic spillover effects of 144 trillion yen and 222 trillion yen, respectively.

The investment initiative will be advanced through a model combining public and private capital. If inflation trends align with expectations, the government will shoulder slightly less than half of the total investment. This investment roadmap is a core component of Prime Minister Takaichi's growth strategy, designed to channel funds into areas related to economic security, such as supply chain resilience and critical technologies, with the aim of boosting Japan's long-term growth momentum by fostering emerging industries.