South Korean stocks opened higher for a second straight session, lifted by positive cues from the United States. Concerns that artificial intelligence demand had peaked eased somewhat, while rising expectations of a U.S. rate hold helped large-cap chip stocks drive the market higher.
The KOSPI opened at 6,795.88, up 216.84 points, or 3.30%, from the previous session, according to the Korea Exchange. The index later extended gains to as much as 4%, retaking the 6,800 level.
Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) and SK hynix (000660.KS) rose 5.68% and 7.25%, respectively, recovering the 270,000-won and 1.6-million-won marks. Other large caps also advanced across the board, including Samsung Electro-Mechanics (up 10.86%), Hyundai Motor (up 5.25%), Hanwha Aerospace (up 4.67%) and Doosan Enerbility (up 3.36%).
The KOSDAQ opened little changed. It started at 860.63, up 1.72 points, or 0.20%, but turned lower as of 9:11 a.m. Market leader Alteogen traded at 311,000 won, down 6,500 won, or 2.05%, from the previous session, while Ecopro (down 1.20%), Ecopro BM (down 1.40%), Leeno Industrial (down 0.42%) and Rainbow Robotics (down 0.41%) also slipped.
The strength in domestic stocks appears to rest on expectations that fears of an AI peak-out are fading. Although New York markets closed mixed overnight, investment flooded into chip stocks such as SanDisk (up 5.8%), Micron (up 4.9%) and Nvidia (up 3.0%). In addition, the U.S. consumer price index for July matched expectations, widening the odds of a rate hold and fueling a rally led by technology shares.
Foreign investors continued buying. As of 9:20 a.m., individuals were net sellers of about 830 billion won, while foreign and institutional investors bought a net 514 billion won and 314.5 billion won, respectively. In the previous regular session, foreign investors bought a net more than 3.4 trillion won, driving the KOSPI to a third straight session of gains.
