Seoul record leads most Asian markets higher, crude extends losses (opens in new tab)

The rally in South Korea led gains across most equity markets in Asia, which came as investors looked past ramped up bets this week of a US Federal Reserve interest rate hike before year's end. The gains also followed a strong lead on Wall Street, where the tech-heavy Nasdaq soared almost two percent thanks to heavyweights including Amazon, Alphabet and Nvidia. Chip titans SK hynix and Samsung were once again the standout performers in Seoul, which jumped three percent Friday and has rocketed...