As Jensen Huang, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Nvidia, took the stage at "GTC 2026," reigniting the global "AI frenzy," the KOSPI opened higher on the 18th. Although international oil prices rose again as the Middle East war continued, investor attention appeared to be fixed more on growth in the AI industry than on instability in the Middle East.
The KOSPI started trading at 5,767.10, up 126.62 points (2.24%) from the previous session. As early gains widened, the KOSPI briefly reclaimed the 5,800 level.
In the Korea Exchange, foreigners were net sellers early in the session but quickly turned to net buying. Pension funds were also net buyers. Individuals were net sellers.
Samsung Electronics and SK hynix rose more than 3%–4% early in the session, with Samsung Electronics crossing 200,000 won and SK hynix topping 1 million won again.
While the impact of the Iran situation on Korea's stock market has somewhat eased, the AI frenzy tied to Nvidia's annual conference "GTC 2026" is lifting domestic shares again. In his keynote, Jensen Huang said "inference demand" is surging explosively, adding that it reflects growing demand based on the full-fledged spread of AI that autonomously performs productive tasks, rather than simple model training needs.
He also emphasized that commercialization of physical AI is imminent, saying self-driving cars, industrial robots, and humanoids have moved beyond pilot phases into actual deployment.
Jensen Huang's confidence is lifting the share prices not only of Samsung Electronics and SK hynix but also of Hyundai Motor Group, which has secured robotics capabilities, and nuclear power-related stocks such as Doosan Enerbility.
Kim Yoon-jeong, an analyst at LS Securities, said, "Although the Iran war has entered its 19th day and continues, the market is moving somewhat away from war fears and is paying more attention to Nvidia's GTC 2026, Micron's earnings to be announced soon, and the Federal Reserve's March Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC)."
Overnight, Iran attacked Fujairah Port, a bypass for the Strait of Hormuz and the United Arab Emirates' (UAE) "oil hub," heightening concerns about international crude supply and pushing global oil prices back to around $100. Despite higher oil, U.S. stocks rose across the board overnight.
The KOSDAQ is also showing strength. The KOSDAQ started trading at 1,156.46, up 19.52 points (1.72%) on the day, and is maintaining gains of more than 1.5% early in the session.