In early trading on the 17th, the KOSPI index is up 1%, hitting the 4,050 level.
As of 9:15 a.m., the KOSPI index is at 4,051.82, up 40.25 points (1%) from the previous trading day. The KOSPI opened at 4,078.57, up 67.00 points (1.67%).
In the main board, foreigners alone are net buyers of 70 billion won, propping up the index. Individuals and institutions are net sellers of 60 billion won and 7 billion won, respectively.
Seven of the top 10 stocks by market capitalization are stronger. Samsung Electronics, SK hynix, Hyundai Motor, and Doosan Enerbility are trading higher than the previous session. In contrast, LG Energy Solution and KB Financial are weaker.
At the same time, the KOSDAQ index is at 897.59, down 0.31 points (0.03%) from the previous trading day. The KOSDAQ opened at 904.44, up 6.54 points (0.73%) from the previous session.
In the KOSDAQ market, individuals are net buyers of 90 billion won. Foreigners and institutions are net sellers of 33 billion won and 30 billion won, respectively.
In the KOSDAQ market as well, seven of the top 10 by market cap are rising. Alteogen, ABL Bio, EcoPro BM, and Peptron are strong. In contrast, HLB, LigaChem Biosciences, and EcoPro are trading lower than the day before.
Han Ji-young of Kiwoom Securities said, "The domestic stock market is expected to enter a phase of heightened volatility following the release of Nvidia's third-quarter results this year, influenced by changes in artificial intelligence (AI) stock prices, the U.S. September employment data, and the minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) in October."
He added, "While foreigners' aggressive net selling of KOSPI this month is a figure that could stoke market anxiety, it is closer to profit-taking in semiconductor stocks tied to the AI bubble debate," noting, "It is premature to interpret it as a signal that the KOSPI bull market is over."
Overnight on Wall Street, the three major indexes swung sharply and ended mixed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 47,147.48, down 309.74 points (0.65%) from the previous session. The Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 fell 0.05%, while the Nasdaq composite finished up 0.13%.
Bargain hunting flowed into AI-related tech stocks that had been weak recently. In particular, Micron rose more than 4% on some media reports that Samsung Electronics raised some semiconductor supply prices by up to 60%. With easing AI bubble concerns as a psychological factor combining with the issue of memory price hikes, other semiconductor stocks also turned higher.
At the same time in the Seoul foreign exchange market, the won-dollar exchange rate stood at 1,458.00 won per U.S. dollar, up 2.5 won from the previous trading day.