0
The KOSPI and other indices are displayed on the board at Hana Bank's dealing room in Jung-gu, Seoul, on the 30th. / Yonhap

The KOSPI surged more than 13% in early trading, driven by a rebound in investor sentiment following a rally in U.S. semiconductor stocks and large-scale net buying by foreign investors. As large-cap chip stocks like Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix led the index rebound, buy-side sidecars were triggered simultaneously on both the KOSPI and KOSDAQ markets.

According to the Korea Exchange on the 31st, the KOSPI opened at 5657.79, up 1.15% from the previous session, before quickly extending its gains. It briefly reclaimed the 6,300 level during the session, triggering the 44th buy-side sidecar of the year. As of 9:28 a.m., the KOSPI stood at 6352.97.

Foreign investors led the rally with net purchases of 4.2037 trillion won. In contrast, individual investors and institutions posted net sales of 3.5945 trillion won and 506.2 billion won, respectively.

Semiconductor stocks drove the index rebound. Samsung Electronics was trading at 247,500 won, up 19.57%, while SK Hynix rose 23.45% to 1,632,000 won. Chip-related stocks such as SK Square (up 28.66%) and Samsung Electro-Mechanics (up 29.92%) also posted strong gains.

Overnight, semiconductor stocks surged across the board on Wall Street as expectations for AI investment revived. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rose more than 8%, with major chip stocks such as Micron, AMD, and Intel also posting double-digit gains. This is seen as having quickly restored investor sentiment, drawing bargain-hunting into domestic chip stocks that had fallen sharply in the recent downturn.

The fact that the U.S. June personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index came in line with market expectations, and that Microsoft's strong earnings eased concerns over the profitability of AI investment, also boosted risk appetite.

The KOSDAQ also continued its rally. The index opened at 666.47, up 3.36% from the previous session, and stood at 697.25 as of 9:28 a.m. Foreign investors and institutions posted net purchases of 70.9 billion won and 61.2 billion won, respectively. Among the top market-cap stocks, chip equipment makers such as Jusung Engineering (up 25.57%) and Wonik IPS (up 23.46%) led the gains.

                                                                                                            Park Ju-yeon