KOSPI Retakes 7,000 as Semiconductors, Nuclear Power, and Shipbuilding Rally Together
The KOSPI rose as much as 1.9% intraday, passing the 7,830 level, while the KOSDAQ gained about 1.7% to trade around 825. Foreign investors alternated between buying and selling in the KOSPI market during the session, while posting net buying of nearly 180 billion won in the KOSDAQ; in the futures market, foreign buying extended to a fifth straight session, supporting the index's attempt to break above 7,000.
Gains narrowed later in the session, with the KOSPI heading toward a close up about 0.9% and the KOSDAQ up about 1.3%. Foreigners turned to modest net selling on the exchange, and Samsung Electronics stayed near flat while SK Hynix held on to a gain of about 2.8%. Advancing and declining issues on the KOSPI were roughly balanced at about 430 each, but strength in large-cap names by market capitalization drove the index higher.
The previous session had seen a sharp intraday drop after news broke of a Houthi attack on a Saudi refinery. Oil prices surged in the latter part of Asian trading, dragging down the local market as well, but this session saw broad gains across semiconductors, power, nuclear power, and shipbuilding that offset the earlier decline.
The three major New York indices closed lower on the back of the oil price spike, but the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rose more than 1%. News of a large-scale AI infrastructure deal between Qualcomm and Amazon lifted the semiconductor sector broadly, a tailwind that carried over to local semiconductor stocks.