The KOSPI opened with a gain in the 3% range. News that the labor dispute and strike between Samsung Electronics and its union reached a tentative agreement appears to be driving the KOSPI higher.
The previous day, U.S. stocks closed higher across the board as geopolitical tensions between the United States and Iran eased, which appears to have had a positive impact on Korea's market.
On the 21st, the KOSPI opened at 7,486.37, up 277.42 points (3.85%) from the prior trading day.
Early in the session on the main board, foreigners are net sellers of more than 900 billion won, while individuals and institutions are net buyers. Individuals have net bought more than 800 billion won, and institutions more than 60 billion won.
In the U.S. market the previous day, buying flowed in on President Trump's comment that negotiations between the United States and Iran were in the final stage. As international oil prices and Government Bonds yields fell, easing inflation concerns, all three major indexes finished higher.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.31% from the prior trading day, and the U.S. Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 also gained 1.08%. The Nasdaq likewise ended up 1.54%.
In U.S. trading, Intel rose 7.4% on news it is in talks to acquire Tenstorrent, a startup that designs artificial intelligence (AI) accelerators. Micron climbed 4.8% after the JP Morgan conference emphasized rising HBM and SSD demand driven by expanding AI inference and the possibility of a long-term supply shortage. Tesla also rose 3.3% on news of FSD expansion in Lithuania and accelerated FSD development in China.
In Korea's market, Samsung Electronics is up in the 4% range, and SK hynix is also gaining more than 3%. Samsung Electro-Mechanics, Samsung Life Insurance, Samsung C&T, and Samsung Biologics—other Samsung group stocks—are strong early in the session.
The KOSDAQ opened at 1,085.30, up 29.23 points (2.77%) from the prior trading day. Foreigners and institutions are net buyers, purchasing more than 70 billion won and 30 billion won, respectively. Individuals are net sellers of more than 90 billion won.