The KOSPI jumped 2.7% at the open, moving to retake the 7,000 level for the first time in seven sessions after Nvidia's earnings surprise reaffirmed artificial intelligence demand. Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) and SK hynix (000660.KS), the country's two chip heavyweights, led broad gains among large-cap stocks, while foreign investors — hesitant a day earlier — returned as buyers to drive the index higher.
The benchmark KOSPI opened at 6,996.12, up 187.91 points or 2.76% from the previous close, according to the Korea Exchange on the 27th. Domestic chip bellwethers powered the advance. As of 9:05 a.m., Samsung Electronics traded at 270,000 won, up 3.25% or 8,500 won, while SK hynix was at 1.78 million won, up 5.45% or 92,000 won. Buying spread across the semiconductor value chain, lifting SK Square (402340.KS) 4.44%, Samsung Electro-Mechanics (009150.KS) 4.36% and Hanmi Semiconductor (042700.KS) 2.51%. Foreign investors bought a net 53.9 billion won on the main board at the open, then expanded that to more than 200 billion won within 15 minutes.
Among other large caps, transformer and power equipment makers rallied on expectations they will benefit from grid buildouts tied to AI data centers. HD Hyundai Electric (267260.KS) rose 8.32%, Hyosung Heavy Industries (298040.KS) 5.86% and LS ELECTRIC 5.21%. Battery names also advanced, with Samsung SDI (006400.KS) up 5.04%, LG Energy Solution (373220.KS) up 1.42% and POSCO Holdings (005490.KS) up 1.37%. Profit-taking weighed on others, sending Doosan Enerbility (034020.KS) down 1.86%, Korea Electric Power down 3.45%, Hyundai Motor (005380.KS) down 0.61%, Samsung Biologics (207940.KS) down 0.50% and Samsung Life Insurance (032830.KS) down 1.13%.
Wall Street's regular session closed narrowly lower overnight amid caution, with the Dow Jones off 0.21%, the Standard & Poor's 500 down 0.02% and the Nasdaq Composite down 0.08%. Nvidia's results, released after the close, reversed the mood. Second-quarter revenue came in at $96.22 billion, up 106% from a year earlier and more than $4 billion above the market forecast of $92.17 billion. Nvidia guided for revenue growth of 70% in the next fiscal year, far above market expectations in the mid-40% range. Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress said memory shortages would create a bottleneck at least through the end of fiscal 2028, sending Nvidia up more than 4% and Micron more than 3% in after-hours trading. July core personal consumption expenditures price index in the U.S., at 3.3%, matched forecasts, easing inflation concerns.
Analysts said investor sentiment has entered a clear recovery phase centered on market leaders, now that pricing power and medium- to long-term demand visibility for large-cap chipmakers have been reconfirmed. They expect buying to broaden into major sectors with clear earnings improvement ahead of Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh's speech at the Jackson Hole symposium on the 28th. Hwang Su-wook, an analyst at Meritz Securities (008560.KS), said the emerging picture shows growth extending even to non-hyperscalers without cash reserves, through leveraged investment expansion built on AI monetization. "Nvidia's financing support is becoming a new revenue source, and AI investment is spreading beyond the hyperscalers," the analyst said.
