On the 14th, the Korean stock market saw foreign and institutional investors drive the index upward. Thanks to their buying momentum, the KOSPI index recovered to the 2640 range for the first time in about two months. The KOSDAQ index also approached the 740 mark.
However, with the presidential election approaching, candidates have been consecutively announcing pledges, which has fueled the rise of related political theme stocks.
On that day, the KOSPI index closed at 2640.57, up 32.15 points (1.23%) from the previous trading day. The index opened at 2625.36, up 16.94 points (0.65%) from the previous session, and increased further in the afternoon. On that day, institutions and foreign investors bought net amounts of 534.4 billion won and 470.2 billion won, respectively. Individuals sold a net amount of 1.01 trillion won.
In the securities market, news that NVIDIA would supply artificial intelligence (AI) chips to Saudi Arabia boosted the stocks of leading semiconductor companies Samsung Electronics and SK hynix. In particular, SK hynix closed at 206,000 won, up 3.78% from the previous trading day. Samsung Electronics rose by 0.88%, while preferred shares of Samsung Electronics also increased by 0.53%.
Additionally, stocks of LG Energy Solution, Samsung Biologics, Hyundai Motor, Hanwha Aerospace, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, and KB Financial also increased. In contrast, Kia and POSCO Holdings saw declines.
On that day, Hanjin KAL's stock price recorded a daily limit up for two consecutive days. The second-largest shareholder, Hoban Construction, raised its equity stake to over 18%, reflecting expectations of a management dispute. The preferred shares of Hanjin KAL also surged to close at 38,600 won, up 8,900 won (29.97%), hitting the upper limit for the second consecutive day.
The theme stocks related to Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party of Korea's presidential candidate, also stood out. As this candidate emphasized renewable energy pledges such as the sunlight pension, solar-related stocks surged. Hanwha Solutions rose by 10.83%, while preferred shares of Hanwha Solutions increased by 7.95%. OCI Holdings and HD Hyundai Energy Solutions also closed up 7.04% and 29.35%, respectively. Additionally, Yujin Robot, which has a board member in the candidate's camp, continued a daily limit up for three trading days in a row.
On that day, the KOSDAQ index finished at 739.05, up 7.17 points (0.98%) from the previous trading day. In the KOSDAQ market, institutional investors net bought 61 billion won. Foreign investors also acquired 47.3 billion won worth of stocks, while individuals sold a net amount of 85.9 billion won.
Among the top 10 stocks by market capitalization in the KOSDAQ, ECOPRO BM, Rainbow Robotics, PharmaResearch, and HUGEL rose. In contrast, Alteogen, Ecopro, Peptron, CLASSYS, and LigaChem Biosciences fell.
Kim Ji-won, a researcher at KB Securities, noted, "The recovery of investor sentiment centered on semiconductors and the results of U.S. inflation contributed to the expanding rise, and the positive atmosphere driven by a tariff reduction agreement between the U.S. and China is expected to continue for a while. Additionally, attention should be paid to sector-specific issues based on each presidential candidate's pledges."
In the Seoul foreign exchange market, as of 3:30 p.m., the won-to-dollar exchange rate recorded 1,420.2 won, up 4.2 won from the previous day.