South Korea's Kospi is returning from the Liberation Day holiday with investors focused on whether a semiconductor-led rally can keep the index above 7,000 despite pressure from higher oil prices and rising U.S. bond yields. U.S. equities ended lower on Aug. 17 local time as West Texas Intermediate crude settled at $84.50 a barrel and Brent at $90.87 after the U.S.-Iran ceasefire memorandum of understanding expired without renewal, while the 30-year Treasury yield climbed to 5.31%, its highest since 2007. Even so, chip shares outperformed, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index up and gains in SanDisk, Micron Technology and SK Hynix ADRs helping reinforce expectations for continued demand tied to AI inference. Analysts said those moves could support early-week gains in South Korea, where the Kospi rose 2.42% to 6,977.94 on Aug. 14 after briefly touching 7,010.86, backed by 3.05 trillion won in foreign net buying. The key tests now are whether August export data, especially semiconductor shipments, confirm that momentum remains strong enough for the Kospi to absorb profit-taking and establish itself above 7,000.