The KOSPI reclaimed the 6,900 level as a tailwind from Nvidia's earnings combined with solid gains in major chip stocks and a surge in secondary battery and power equipment shares, which are seen benefiting from U.S. moves to push Chinese gear out of the American power grid. Large-scale profit-taking by retail investors and the Bank of Korea's second straight rate increase capped the upside, and a divided market persisted as declining stocks far outnumbered advancing ones amid concentrated buying.
The KOSPI closed at 6,912.37 on the 27th, up 104.16 points, or 1.53%, from the previous session, according to the Korea Exchange. On the main board, retail investors were the sole net sellers, unloading 1.9149 trillion won ($1.3 billion). Foreign and institutional investors bought a net 142.1 billion won and 177.6 billion won, respectively, while other corporations purchased about 1.6 trillion won as Samsung Electronics and SK hynix continued share buybacks. The KOSDAQ finished at 837.65, up 10.78 points, or 1.30%. On the KOSDAQ, retail investors sold a net 148.4 billion won, while foreign and institutional investors bought a net 88.3 billion won and 61.3 billion won.
The market opened with an attempt to break through 7,000, powered by Nvidia's earnings beat overnight, but the opening price proved to be the day's high as retail-driven profit-taking hit leading chip stocks. Samsung Electronics closed at 266,000 won, up 1.72%, or 4,500 won, while SK hynix ended at 1.73 million won, up 2.49%.
Secondary battery and power equipment stocks posted steep gains. News that U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order barring imports of power equipment from adversarial nations sent HD Hyundai Electric up 12.01%, Hyosung Heavy Industries up 10.08% and LS ELECTRIC up 8.93%. Expectations for wider energy storage system demand tied to U.S. grid expansion lifted the battery supply chain across the board, with Samsung SDI rising 10.27%, POSCO Future M 9.07%, LG Energy Solution 5.56%, LG Chem 4.17% and POSCO Holdings 3.51%.
Despite the index gain, the strength failed to spread across the market. Only 317 stocks advanced on the main board, while 539 declined. Analysts attribute the split to growing concern over shrinking market liquidity after the Bank of Korea's Monetary Policy Board raised the base rate to 3.00% from 2.75%, its second consecutive increase. Automakers also weighed on the market, with Hyundai Motor down 2.45%, Kia down 4.03% and Hyundai Mobis down 2.69%, alongside declines in Samsung C&T, off 3.10%, and Korea Electric Power, off 2.44%.
Brokerages said a wait-and-see mood set in ahead of a Jackson Hole speech by Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh scheduled for the 28th. "Even though the U.S. core PCE price index for July came in line with expectations and Nvidia's earnings were solid, further upward momentum in the index was limited by caution over the Fed's tightening stance," said Lee Kyung-min, an analyst at Daishin Securities. "With the major macro events now behind us, whether foreign buying in large-cap stocks continues will determine the index's direction."
