Asia's AI boom is spilling out of the stock market and into luxury spending

South Korea's AI-fueled stock rally has helped drive rising household wealth and strong spending at high-end department stores such as Shinsegae. Anthony Wallace/AFP/Getty Images AI-linked stock gains are spilling into luxury spending across parts of Asia. South Korea's market slump has cooled the boom, but spending is holding up. Now, massive chipmaker bonuses could send billions more flowing into the economy. Luxury spending is holding up in parts of Asia even as the AI-fueled stock-market rallies that helped create new wealth have stumbled. In South Korea and Japan, affluent consumers are still spending on jewelry, watches, and other luxury goods after huge gains in AI-linked stocks swelled household wealth. The trend is most apparent in South Korea, where Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and other technology companies powered a historic stock-market rally earlier this year. Markets have since turned volatile, but consumer spending has proved more resilient.