South Korea’s KOSPI was up 1.98% at 6,848.29 by 11:11 a.m. on the 18th, recovering above 6,800 as foreign investors switched to net buying after eight sessions of selling. Foreign and institutional investors bought a net 231.2 billion won and 341.5 billion won, respectively, while retail investors sold 1.1444 trillion won. The move followed gains across the three major U.S. stock indexes, helped by lower Treasury yields and international oil prices and by strength in semiconductor stocks. Samsung Electronics gained 2.57% and SK Hynix rose 4.47%, while the KOSDAQ advanced 0.64% to 827.42. Kiwoom Securities analyst Han Ji-young said the foreign-investor shift was important after 2.2 trillion won of net selling the previous day, adding that macro uncertainty appeared to be peaking around the September FOMC meeting and that market sensitivity to high interest rates was easing. Separately, Naver Cloud hosted Defense AI Day in Seoul, where former Vice Defense Minister Kim Sun-ho described Defense AX (the use of artificial intelligence to transform military operations) as essential as AI reshapes warfare. Kim said final decisions and command authority must remain with humans, while Naver Cloud presented a defense AI full stack and South Korea’s Defense AX hub program advanced at five locations.