The KOSPI vaulted past 6,100 and 6,200 to seize the 6,300 level in a single day. After Nvidia lit a fire under semiconductors with an "earnings surprise" overnight, Samsung Electronics and SK hynix each surged more than 7%, lifting the index.
On the supply-demand side, even though foreigners dumped more than 2.1 trillion won in profit-taking, a buying wave of about 1 trillion won by individuals absorbed it and fueled the index's explosion.
The KOSPI closed at 6,307.32, up 223.46 points (3.67%) from the previous trading day. After topping 6,000 for the first time the day before, the KOSPI opened above 6,100 on Nvidia's strong results overnight and broadened its intraday gains to push past 6,200 and 6,300 in turn.
Buying sentiment集中 settled on semiconductor stocks. Samsung Electronics and SK hynix both jumped more than 7%, putting "220,000 won Samsung" and "1.1 million won hynix" within reach. With this, Samsung Electronics became the first Korean corporations to surpass a $1 trillion market capitalization. That ranks 12th globally by market cap.
HANMI Semiconductor soared 28.44% on news that Micron requested supplies of Korea-made equipment, while in the KOSDAQ market, investor appetite spread to semiconductor equipment stocks such as Wonik IPS (10.19%), HANA Micron (7.22%), and Jusung Engineering (6.86%).
Securities stocks extended gains amid the KOSPI's sharp rally. Sangsangin Investment & Securities hit the daily upper limit, while SK Securities (18.98%), Yuhwa Securities (6.84%), and Daol Investment & Securities (5.4%) also closed higher. Large caps such as Korea Investment Holdings (-1.11%), Mirae Asset Securities (0.96%), and Samsung Securities (0.91%) were weak.
Buying also gathered in physical artificial intelligence (AI) theme stocks. Hyundai Motor jumped more than 6% to top 600,000 won, and LG Innotek spiked 20% after news that it would supply camera modules to Boston Dynamics.
Individuals were net buyers of 659.9 billion won. Institutions were net buyers of 1.2438 trillion won, and the financial investment window, where individual exchange-traded fund (ETF) flows are tallied, recorded net buying of 1.6222 trillion won. Investment trusts, which have a long-term bent, were net buyers of 52.8 billion won, while pension funds were net sellers of 97.9 billion won.
Foreigners alone were net sellers of more than 2.1 trillion won. Foreigners sold the electric and electronics sector that led the market that day (2.4345 trillion won), securities (49.7 billion won), and insurance (133.3 billion won). Through the day, foreigners logged a seventh straight trading day of net selling.
At the same time, the KOSDAQ closed at 1,188.15, up 22.90 points (1.97%) from the previous trading day. The index opened at 1,176.15 and expanded its intraday gains to take a run at the 1,200 level, but finished around 1,188. In the KOSDAQ market, individuals were net sellers of 547.7 billion won, while foreigners turned net buyers of 408.3 billion won.
Funds flocked to biotech and robotics stocks. Sam Chun Dang Pharm hit the daily upper limit on news of a technology transfer for an oral obesity treatment worth 5.3 trillion won, while Kolon TissueGene (10.53%) and LigaChem Biosciences (1.57%) also closed higher. In robotics, Rainbow Robotics (11.68%) and ROBOTIS (2.95%) finished up.