The KOSPI, which had been trading weak, is surging more than 4% on a rebound in Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) and SK hynix (000660.KS). The index, which had fallen to the 7,400 line, is testing a recovery of the 8,000 line.
The KOSPI was trading at 7,963.88, up 315.79 points, or 4.13%, from the previous session, according to the Korea Exchange on Wednesday. The index opened at 7,739.75 points and fell to as low as 7,378.10 points during the session, before reversing higher and extending its gains.
Institutional buying is driving the index higher. On the main bourse, foreign investors were net sellers of 1.5159 trillion won and individual investors net sellers of 1.03 trillion won as of around 1:20 p.m. In contrast, institutions were buying 2.477 trillion won worth of shares. Financial investment firms were net buyers of 1.8122 trillion won.
Among the top market-cap stocks on the main bourse, Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are surging. Samsung Electronics is up 8.65%, while SK hynix is rising 7.04%. In addition, Samsung Life Insurance (032830.KS) (+3.37%) and Samsung C&T (028260.KS) (+5.41%) are strong. Hyundai Motor (005380.KS) and LG Energy Solution (373220.KS) are up 0.41% and 0.14%, respectively, but lag the index's gain.
Samsung Electronics is trading strong on news of a potential partnership with Anthropic. Anthropic, the developer of the artificial intelligence (AI) model "Claude," is discussing AI chip production with Samsung Electronics, U.S. IT outlet The Information reported Tuesday, citing multiple sources.
According to the report, Anthropic has begun early-stage work on developing its own AI chips and is considering using the 2-nanometer (nm; one nanometer is one billionth of a meter) manufacturing process and advanced packaging facilities of Samsung Electronics' foundry (contract chipmaking) division.
The 2-nanometer process is the latest process, characterized by higher processor integration and better power efficiency. Anthropic is reportedly discussing using Samsung Electronics' advanced packaging technology to place the main processor close to memory chips, speeding up data movement to minimize bottlenecks.
Samsung Electronics and SK hynix plunged 9.06% and 14.57%, respectively, the previous day on news that hyperscaler Meta Platforms was entering the cloud business, and now appear to be quickly recovering those losses. The previous day, the stock market focused on the notion that Meta had so much surplus computing power that it needed to sell some, raising concerns that the memory chip boom driven by AI investment competition could peak out, weighing on the broader market.
