After rising 5% right after the open and recovering to the 7,100 level, the KOSPI gave back most of its gains late in the session and finished trading at the 6,700 level. The market interpreted the move as caution broadening across the board ahead of Alphabet's earnings release scheduled for the early morning on the 23rd.
On the 22nd, the KOSPI closed at 6,797.70, up 0.74% (49.75 points) from the previous trading day. At the same time, the KOSDAQ finished at 751.09, up 0.30% (2.25 points) from the day before.
The KOSPI showed a steep rise early in the session. Opening at 7,052.09, up 4.51% (304.14 points) from the previous trading day, the KOSPI at one point surged more than 5% to touch the 7,100 level intraday. Six minutes after the open, a buy sidecar (a temporary halt on program buy orders) was triggered.
Foreign investors led the KOSPI's gains. Foreigners were net buyers of more than 3.5 trillion won. Individuals and institutions were net sellers of 1.983 trillion won and 1.4826 trillion won, respectively.
Kang Jin-hyeok, a researcher at Shinhan Investment & Securities, said, "As strength in the artificial intelligence (AI) cycle was confirmed, sentiment for semiconductor investment reversed."
However, by the afternoon, the KOSPI gave back its gains. Lee Kyung-min, a researcher at Daishin Securities, said, "The domestic market opened with a gap-up as bargain buying flowed into semiconductor names, but it gave back intraday gains on caution ahead of Alphabet's earnings and pressure from rising international oil prices."
Alphabet's earnings release, scheduled for the early morning on the 23rd, is expected to be a key inflection point. As big tech continues to expand investment in artificial intelligence (AI) data centers, expectations are high that the semiconductor cycle will extend, but doubts also persist over whether hyperscalers (large data center operators) can continue making large-scale investments.
On the Korea Exchange that day, 469 stocks rose and 399 fell.
Meanwhile, on the KOSDAQ market, individuals were net buyers of 291 billion won, while foreigners and institutions were net sellers of 101.4 billion won and 198.9 billion won, respectively.
In particular, robot stocks surged on the KOSDAQ that day. On news that Samsung Electronics would establish a robot business promotion office directly under the CEO, robot-related stocks, including Rainbow Robotics(277810), jumped sharply.
By contrast, biotech shares were weak as the fallout continued from news that Kolon TissueGene's arthritis treatment failed to demonstrate efficacy in phase 3 trials in the United States.