The KOSPI index pulled off a V-shaped rebound in a day. It plunged 8% the previous day on worries about a slowdown in artificial intelligence (AI) investment and fear of U.S. tightening, but on this day, renewed expectations for semiconductor stocks drove it up 8%, reclaiming the 8,000 level.
The KOSPI index closed at 8,096.92, up 612.51 points (8.18%) from the previous transaction day. The day's gain ranks seventh all time. It opened around 7,600 in early trading, triggering a buy-sidecar, then stalled before shooting straight to the 8,000 level in the afternoon. It pierced through 7,500, 7,600, 7,700, 7,800, 7,900, and 8,000 all in one day.
Institutional buying was strong. Institutions bought more than 1.7 trillion won; among them, financial investment, where exchange-traded fund (ETF) flows are tallied, had a net purchase of 1.8 trillion won, investment trusts 940 billion won, and banks 17.8 billion won. Foreign investors extended their net selling for 22 transaction days, unloading more than 2 trillion won, and individuals sold 610 billion won.
The KOSPI index plunged 8% the previous day, logging the ninth-worst decline on record, but on this day the index surged on the back of a rebound in U.S. semiconductor corporations' shares and the possibility of talks between the United States and Iran. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) rose 5.61%, and Micron Technology (9.87%) and Intel (11.19%) jumped.
Lee Kyung-min, a researcher at Daishin Securities, said, "The domestic stock market tumbled the previous day as rising U.S. Treasury yields, a sharp drop in U.S. semiconductors, and escalating military clashes in the Middle East overlapped," adding, "However, in the U.S. market, confidence in the AI investment cycle for semiconductor stocks held up, drawing in bargain hunting, and the perceived possibility of talks in the Middle East acted as upward pressure on stocks."
Interest rates and the exchange rate, cited as broad sources of anxiety across financial markets, also showed signs of easing. The 10-year Treasury bond yield fell more than 2%, down to around 4.26%, and the won-dollar exchange rate, helped by National Pension Service currency hedging, closed down 14.3 won at 1,513.5 won. However, the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield still topped 4.5%, remaining elevated.
By stock, Samsung Electronics and SK hynix jumped 8% and 16%, respectively. Samsung Electro-Mechanics, buoyed by rising expectations for a recovery in the multilayer ceramic capacitor (MLCC) cycle, surged 17%, nearing the 2 million won mark. Naver and LG Electronics, which lost the "Jensen Huang effect," plunged more than 8%.
The KOSDAQ index closed at 967.81, up 56.42 points (6.19%) from the previous transaction day. Foreign investors and institutions recorded net purchases of 311.3 billion won and 201.4 billion won, respectively. Individuals alone posted net sales of more than 500 billion won.
Alteogen jumped 12% on news of winning a European patent, while LEENO Industrial and Kolon TissueGene also rose more than 15% each.