Seoul stocks soared to a new record high above 6,700 on Thursday, driven by investor confidence in robust chip demand and stellar earnings reports from South Korean tech giant Samsung and major U.S. technology firms.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index, or Kospi, climbed 19.51 points (0.29 percent) to reach 6,710.41 by 9:15 a.m., having touched an intra-day peak of 6,739.39 shortly after the opening bell. This upward momentum follows the Kospi’s close at a fresh record of 6,690.90 on the previous day, marking its third consecutive session of gains.
Overnight in the U.S., major stock indexes presented a mixed performance. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.57 percent, and the S&P 500 saw a marginal drop of 0.04 percent. However, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite managed a slight gain of 0.04 percent.
The divergent U.S. market movements were attributed to a surge in international oil prices, triggered by U.S. President Donald Trump’s declaration to maintain a naval blockade on Iran until a nuclear deal is secured, alongside intense investor anticipation of earnings reports from major tech companies, including Alphabet, Amazon.com, Meta Platforms, and Microsoft. Following the U.S. market close, all four tech behemoths announced stronger-than-expected first-quarter revenues, significantly bolstering optimism for a sustained artificial intelligence (AI) boom.
Concurrently, international oil benchmarks experienced significant rallies: Brent crude surged 6.1 percent to $118.03 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude jumped 6.95 percent to $106.88 per barrel.
The Kospi’s impressive performance was significantly bolstered by gains in prominent blue-chip technology stocks. Samsung Electronics, recognized as the world’s foremost memory chipmaker, announced record quarterly earnings for the first three months of the year, further igniting investor confidence in the sustained growth of the AI sector and its benefits for the semiconductor industry.
Specifically, Samsung Electronics shares rose 0.77 percent, while its key chipmaking competitor, SK Hynix, advanced 1.62 percent. AI investment firm SK Square also saw a notable jump of 2.41 percent. Leading electrical component manufacturers also posted gains, with Samsung Electro-Mechanics increasing by 1.09 percent and LS Electric by 1.65 percent.
However, not all sectors participated in the rally; leading automaker Hyundai Motor opened 0.72 percent lower. Other decliners included power plant manufacturer Doosan Enerbility, down 0.77 percent, major shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy, losing 0.87 percent, and Hanwha Ocean, which fell 0.98 percent.
