The South Korean benchmark Kospi equity index experienced a significant surge on Thursday, primarily driven by a sharp rally in Samsung Electronics shares. This robust performance followed the memory chip giant successfully averting a strike through a last-minute labor agreement, significantly boosting market confidence.
The Kospi opened 3.85 percent higher at 7,486.37 and extended its gains throughout the trading session, briefly surpassing the 7,700 level. According to the Korea Exchange, the index stood at 7,788 points as of 2 p.m., marking an impressive 8.04 percent advance on-session.
This renewed market momentum was largely attributed to Samsung Electronics, the market’s most influential heavyweight, successfully avoiding a full-scale industrial strike, which substantially uplifted investor sentiment. Additional support came from an overnight rebound in US semiconductor stocks, fueled by stronger-than-expected earnings reported by Nvidia.
Amidst this vigorous rally, a buy-side sidecar — a circuit breaker designed to curb excessive buying — was activated on the Kospi at 9:24 a.m. This occurred after Kospi 200 futures surged by 5.04 percent from the previous session. A similar buying curb was also triggered on the junior Kosdaq market at 9:27 a.m., marking the first instance since April 1 that sidecars had been activated on both key South Korean equity markets simultaneously.
Despite the overall market surge, foreign investors were net sellers, offloading 437.4 billion won (approximately $291.6 million) on the Kospi by 2 p.m., extending their selling streak to an eleventh consecutive session. Retail investors also divested a net 1.81 billion won. In contrast, institutional investors played a pivotal role in lifting the benchmark index, purchasing a substantial net 2.29 trillion won.
Leading this robust rebound were major semiconductor companies. Samsung Electronics shares climbed significantly by 7.61 percent, closing at 297,000 won. Similarly, shares of SK Hynix, another prominent chipmaker, saw an even larger increase of 11.12 percent, reaching 1.94 million won.
The substantial surge in Samsung Electronics shares propelled the combined market capitalization of all listed Samsung Group affiliates past the 2,000 trillion won mark during trading, reaching an impressive 2,151.56 trillion won.
This chip-led buying momentum wasn’t confined to semiconductor giants; it spread widely across other large-cap shares throughout the market. SK Square recorded a strong gain of 13.02 percent, reaching 1.16 million won, while Hyundai Motor advanced 11.66 percent to 661,000 won.
The Kosdaq, South Korea’s secondary stock market, also registered sharp gains. The junior bourse commenced trading 2.77 percent higher at 1,085.3 from the prior session and continued its upward trajectory, climbing 4.82 percent to 1,106.97 by 2 p.m.
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