On the 23rd, the KOSPI regained the 7,000 mark and the KOSDAQ recovered to the 790 level. Despite headwinds from Middle East–driven geopolitical risk and a surge in global oil prices, the domestic stock market rebounded on expectations that big tech's investments in artificial intelligence (AI) will continue.
The KOSPI ended at 7,096.89, up 299.19 points (4.40%) from the previous trading day. The index opened at 6,963.35, up 165.65 points (2.44%) from the prior session, and extended gains through intraday strength.
In the Korea Exchange, foreigners and institutions were net buyers of 2.5192 trillion won and 741 billion won, respectively, leading the index higher. In contrast, individuals alone were net sellers of 2.5709 trillion won.
The domestic market moved in contrast to the overnight declines on Wall Street. As military tensions between the United States and Iran escalated and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) jumped nearly 3% to $86.83 a barrel, multiple headwinds weighed on markets and the three major U.S. indexes fell together: the Dow Jones (-0.01%), S&P 500 (-0.14%), and Nasdaq (-0.57%).
But Alphabet, Google's parent company, reversed the mood with its second-quarter results and investment plan released after the close. Alphabet posted second-quarter revenue of $119.8 billion, beating market expectations. It raised this year's capital expenditures (CAPEX) guidance to as much as $205 billion from the previous high of $190 billion.
Analysts said the expansion of Alphabet's data center and AI infrastructure investments fed into expectations for improved earnings at domestic semiconductor corporations, helping restore investor sentiment.
Among the largest stocks by market capitalization on the Korea Exchange, semiconductor names led the gains. Samsung Electronics(005930) finished at 270,000 won, up 3.65% from the previous session, and SK hynix(000660) also closed up 4.86% at 1,919,000 won.
LG Energy Solution(373220) (8.41%), Samsung Electro-Mechanics(009150) (7.66%), HD Hyundai Heavy Industries(329180) (7.21%), Doosan Enerbility(034020) (5.78%), and Hyundai Motor(005380) (3.35%) were among the major large caps that all logged gains.
The KOSDAQ also surged into the close. The KOSDAQ ended at 790.28, up 39.19 points (5.22%) from the previous trading day. The KOSDAQ opened at 763.51, up 12.42 points (1.65%) from the prior session, and widened gains toward the late session.
At 2:27 p.m., as KOSDAQ 150 futures and the KOSDAQ 150 index each rose more than 6% and 5%, respectively, a temporary suspension of program buy quotes (buy-side sidecar) was triggered.
In the KOSDAQ market, foreigners and institutions were net buyers of 133 billion won and 60.4 billion won, respectively, while individuals were net sellers of 198.5 billion won.