On January 5, Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed up 1,493.32 points (2.97%) at 51,832.80, and South Korea’s KOSPI climbed 147.89 points (3.43%) to a record 4,457.52. Gains were led by chip and defense stocks, with Samsung Electronics jumping 7.47%, marking its largest one-day rise since March 2020.