South Korean stocks began trading higher on Friday, propelled by the strong performance of semiconductor leaders, despite overnight losses on Wall Street.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) initially saw a slight dip but quickly rebounded, gaining 28.46 points, or 0.52 percent, to reach 5,417.23 within the first 15 minutes of trading. This continues its upward trend, following a breakthrough of the 5,500-point milestone the previous day.
The previous day on Wall Street, major US indexes closed in the red. Concerns were raised about the profitability of hardware companies amid rising memory chip prices, and the potential negative impact of the expanding artificial intelligence services on other sectors, like software.
Specifically, the Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased by 1.34 percent, the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite fell by 2.03 percent, and the S&P 500 experienced a loss of 1.57 percent.
Market participants are now closely monitoring the upcoming US consumer price index (CPI) data release (US time Friday), as it is expected to offer insights into the Federal Reserve’s future monetary policy decisions.
In Seoul, tech heavyweight Samsung Electronics saw a jump of 2.97 percent, while its competitor in chip manufacturing, SK hynix, increased by 1.46 percent.
AI investment firm SK Square also experienced gains, climbing 1.58 percent.
However, many other large-cap stocks started trading in negative territory.
Leading battery manufacturer LG Energy Solution decreased by 2.8 percent, and defense industry leader Hanwha Aerospace declined by 1.59 percent.
Major shipbuilding companies HD Hyundai Heavy and Hanwha Ocean saw losses of 0.93 percent and 2.28 percent, respectively.
Financial sector shares also lost ground, following a multi-day rally.
KB Financial fell by 1.07 percent, Shinhan Financial decreased by 1.79 percent, and Hana Financial declined by 1 percent.
Automobile giant Hyundai Motor edged down by 0.2 percent, and its affiliate Kia contracted by 0.66 percent.
