KOSPI Surges to Three-Week High as Chip Stocks Rally
South Korea's KOSPI rose 3.73% to a three-week high, led by chipmakers SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics, as foreign investors bought heavily.
South Korean stocks closed at their highest level in three weeks on Thursday, with the benchmark KOSPI index surging 3.73% to 6,824.54 points. The rally was driven primarily by a sharp jump in semiconductor stocks, which tracked overnight gains in US AI and tech shares.
Chipmaker SK Hynix led the charge with a gain of over 7%, while Samsung Electronics advanced more than 5%. Sentiment in the sector was further boosted by reports that Singapore's state investment firm Temasek is planning to invest in memory chipmakers.
The positive momentum came after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed higher on Wednesday, lifted by strong quarterly results from AI infrastructure companies like CoreWeave. Mild US inflation data also reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve will hold interest rates steady in September.
Other index heavyweights also posted gains, with battery maker LG Energy Solution rising 1.95%, Hyundai Motor up 2.93%, and Kia Corp gaining 1.62%. Samsung BioLogics added 0.84%, while POSCO Holdings slipped marginally by 0.08%.
Market breadth was mixed, with 397 of the 900 traded issues advancing and 453 declining. Foreign investors were net buyers, purchasing shares worth approximately 1.1 trillion won ($778.53 million).
The Korean won strengthened 0.38% against the dollar, trading at 1,413.1 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform. In the bond market, the three-year treasury yield dipped slightly to 3.778%, while the benchmark 10-year yield edged up to 4.293%.