Nikkei Jumps 3.3% as Korea Exports Hit Record $121B

As flagged in Wednesday's evening review, the S&P 500 closed 7,651.54 at the session low, WTI last printed about 90.32 dollars, gold about 4,157 dollars, and Bitcoin about 83,660 dollars. Overnight the cash tape is shut. South Korea's September exports printed a record 120.9 billion dollars. The Nikkei 225 closed 68,956.72, up 3.3 percent, on Micron's beat. Overnight E-mini December futures are near 7,763. WTI is near 89.20 dollars. Spot gold last printed about 4,181 dollars. Bitcoin is near 83,590 dollars. ISM manufacturing prints at 14:00 UTC. Nike reports after the close. US cash opens 13:30 UTC. This is the morning scorecard, not an instruction. Docket: week ahead.

The Setup: Overnight ES Near 7,763

The S&P 500's last cash print remains Wednesday's 7,651.54, down 0.25 percent (Markets Insider). Range 7,651.54 to 7,722.88, the close at the day low. The August 13 record at 7,816.70 remains unrepaired. The Nasdaq Composite closed 26,861.06 (+0.24%). The Dow closed 50,906.05 (-0.86%). E-mini December futures are near 7,763, labeled overnight futures (MarketWatch 7,763.25 from a 7,715.50 settlement, range 7,717.50 to 7,766.75). Nasdaq 100 futures are about 1 percent higher (Bloomberg). The 10-year is near 5.28 percent (Reuters 5.279 to 5.287), a shade under Wednesday's about 5.30 percent. Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said inflation is still too high (Dow Jones). CME FedWatch still puts October hike odds below 40 percent. Bullish trigger: a reclaim of Tuesday's 7,670.84 toward Monday's 7,683.69. Bearish trigger: a slide through Wednesday's 7,651.54 close, then 7,650.50.

Story of the Day: Korea Exports Hit $120.9B

South Korea's September exports jumped 83.5 percent from a year earlier to a record 120.9 billion dollars, beating the 62.0 percent median (Reuters, customs office). Semiconductor shipments rose 262.8 percent to 60.3 billion dollars, almost half of all exports. Computer exports rose 435.3 percent to 7.0 billion dollars. Shipments to the United States rose 137.0 percent to 24.33 billion dollars and shipments to China rose 122.7 percent to 26.01 billion dollars. Imports climbed 26.0 percent, leaving a surplus of 49.85 billion dollars. January to September exports reached 814.5 billion dollars. S&P Global's manufacturing PMI rose to 53.9, a four-month high. The Kospi closed 6,971.35, up 1.95 percent, after an early 1.1 percent fade. Samsung Electronics rose 2.79 percent. SK Hynix rose 3.21 percent (CNA, Reuters). Mainland China remains shut for Golden Week.

Nikkei Jumps 3.3% on Micron's Beat

The Nikkei 225 closed 68,956.72, up 2,203 points or 3.30 percent, a one-and-a-half-month high that approached 69,000 (Reuters). Advantest, Tokyo Electron, and SoftBank Group accounted for about 1,300 points of the move. TOPIX closed about 4,132 to 4,135, up roughly 0.6 percent. Micron reported fiscal fourth-quarter revenue of 54.23 billion dollars, nearly five times 11.32 billion a year earlier, and projected about 61.5 billion dollars for the next quarter. Customers lifted long-term supply-agreement commitments to 32 billion dollars (Aju Press). Wednesday's EPS print was 33.42 dollars versus 31.06 dollars consensus. Cash closed 1,065.06 dollars. Hang Seng last printed about 24,613, up 0.4 percent. Catch up: calendar.

Oil Eases Near $89; Gold Holds $4,181

West Texas Intermediate November futures last printed about 89.20 dollars (MarketWatch 89.17 at 12:53 a.m. EDT, down 1.38 percent from Wednesday's 90.42 settlement; Reuters 88.94 to 89.59). Overnight range about 88.80 to 90.69. Brent is near 97.40 dollars (Reuters). A hold of Wednesday's 90.42 settlement would restore more of last week's premium. A slip through today's 88.80 low would extend the unwind. Spot gold last printed about 4,181 dollars (Kitco 4,181.10 bid at 3:01 a.m. ET, up 0.60 percent, range 4,138.50 to 4,193.90; Reuters 4,181.69 to 4,190.59). That is a bounce from Wednesday evening's about 4,157 and still short of 4,200. September's about 6 percent monthly loss remains the tape.

Crypto Check: Bitcoin Near $83,590

Bitcoin is near 83,590 dollars (TradingView 83,592, down 0.20 percent over 24 hours). MarketWatch's CoinDesk index last printed 84,043 at 1:02 a.m. EDT. Thursday's session has run about 83,500 to 84,240, a fade from Wednesday evening's about 83,660 after a PCE bounce that tagged about 85,500. That still holds the 82,000 reference. Ether is near 2,688 dollars (TradingView 2,688.3, up 1.08 percent), a bounce from Wednesday's about 2,679. Live levels: homepage. BTC bullish trigger: a hold of 83,590 dollars, then Sunday's 84,835. Bearish trigger: a slip through 82,000, then 80,000.

What's Next: ISM, Nike, Then Payrolls

US cash opens at 13:30 UTC. September ISM manufacturing prints at 14:00 UTC. Consensus sits near 55.0 against August's 54.6 (Investing.com, FXStreet). Nike reports after the close. China is shut. Friday is payrolls. Full docket: week ahead. Three scenarios frame the session, not a recommendation. In a contained-yields path, ISM holds near 55 and ES leans on 7,651.54. In a hot-print path, a firm ISM would push the 10-year back through 5.30 percent and test 7,650.50. In a repair path, a soft ISM would give gold a route through 4,200 and let ES reclaim 7,670.84. Bullish trigger: a reclaim of 7,670.84 toward 7,683.69. Bearish trigger: a slide through 7,651.54, then 7,650.50.

For live prices see the ThriveInMarkets homepage. None of the above is a recommendation to buy or sell any asset. Index closes are Wednesday, September 30, 2026 for US cash and Thursday, October 1, 2026 for Nikkei and Kospi; gold, oil, Bitcoin and Ether are live as of 08:00 UTC on October 1, 2026.