On May 14, 2026, Chinese President Xi Jinping hosted U.S. President Donald Trump at the historic Temple of Heaven in Beijing. During their meeting, Xi cautioned Trump that the delicate issue of Taiwan might lead to a “conflict” between their nations if not carefully managed. This warning set the tone for a superpower summit poised to address a range of complex issues as it commenced in Beijing. (Photo courtesy of Brendan Smialowski / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)
Photography Credit: Brendan Smialowski | AFP | Getty Images
In financial news, South Korea’s main stock index, the Kospi, reversed earlier gains by plummeting over 6% on Friday, pulling back from its newly achieved record high. This downturn was driven by declines in major tech stocks, reflecting a broader downward trend across the Asia-Pacific markets.
By the end of the trading day, the Kospi index had closed at 7,493.18, after briefly surpassing 8,000 earlier. Meanwhile, the smaller Kosdaq index also saw a significant drop, falling over 5% to settle at 1,129.82.
This downward shift comes on the heels of the Kospi’s impressive record-breaking performance, which has sparked concerns about potential concentration risks, particularly within the artificial intelligence sector. Notably, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix together account for an unprecedented 42.2% of the Kospi, as reported by Manulife Investment Management.
Shares in Samsung Electronics took a sharp hit, dropping 8.6%, following announcements from its labor union about embarking on an 18-day strike starting May 21. Despite Samsung’s offer to resume wage negotiations without conditions, the union intends to hold off on talks until after June 7. Additionally, SK Hynix saw its shares decline by 7.6%.
Other Asia markets also fell as investors tracked the second day of high-stakes talks between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Trump on Friday left Beijing after the 2-day summit, also attended by a delegation of American business leaders, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Nvidia chief Jensen Huang.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 declined 2% to 61,409.29 and the Topix lost 0.39% to 3,863.97.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 slid 0.11% to 8,630.8.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was down 1.6% as of its final hour of trading, while mainland China’s CSI 300 fell 1.12% to 4,859.59.
Precious metals also saw a sell-off, with spot gold prices down 1.43% at $4,583.02 per ounce, while silver prices fell over 5% to $79.07 per ounce.
Xi warned Trump on Thursday that Washington and Beijing could face “clashes and even conflicts” if the sensitive issue of Taiwan independence is mishandled.
Failure to handle the matter “properly” could place “the entire relationship in great jeopardy,” Xi was quoted as saying.
U.S. stock futures were little changed on Thursday night. Dow futures fell by 10 points, or 0.02%. S&P 500 futures dipped 0.02%, and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.06%.
Overnight in the U.S., the Dow Jones Industrial Average retook 50,000 after Cisco Systems reported strong earnings. The 30-stock index popped 370.26 points, or 0.75%, to end at 50,063.46.
The S&P 500 climbed 0.77% and closed at 7,501.24, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.88% to 26,635.22. Those two indexes scored fresh all-time intraday highs and record closes.
— CNBC’s Justina Lee, Sean Conlon and Lisa Kailai Han contributed to this report
