KOSPI, which set the biggest intraday gain on the 31st, is still extending its steep rally. Samsung Electronics' market capitalization has topped $1 trillion again, and KOSPI's total market cap has recovered to 5,000 trillion won. The KOSDAQ index also reclaimed the 700 level. However, some note that profit-taking could emerge after the short-term surge.
As of 11:53 a.m., KOSPI is trading at 6,396.95, up 803.39 points (14.36%) from the previous session. Right after the open, KOSPI jumped more than 14% and swiftly reclaimed the 6,000 level. Though still intraday, both the gain and the point rise are the biggest on record. On the sharp spike, a buy-sidecar was triggered in both KOSPI and KOSDAQ just six minutes after the open, temporarily suspending the effectiveness of program buy orders.
With semiconductor stocks surging across the board on Wall Street overnight, the domestic market appears to have rebounded strongly as bargain hunting poured into names that had recently fallen sharply.
There is also analysis that the liquidation of the U.S. large hedge fund Situational Awareness Capital Fund positively affected semiconductor stock flows. Led by former OpenAI member Leopold Aschenbrenner, the fund had focused on AI and semiconductor stocks using roughly 4x leverage. But after the recent pullback, it faced margin-call pressure, and hedge fund Citadel was reported to have taken over most of the positions.
As the surge continues, even the No. 4 stock by market cap hit the upper limit. Samsung Electro-Mechanics(009150) is trading at 1,142,000 won, up 263,000 won (29.92%) from the previous session, reaching the price limit.
Samsung Electronics also jumped more than 20% intraday, marking a record-high gain. According to global market cap tracker CompaniesMarketCap.com, as of 10:22 a.m., Samsung Electronics' market capitalization was about $1.158 trillion. SK hynix and SK Square are also up 24% and 29%, respectively, extending gains.
Kang Jin-hyeok, a researcher at Shinhan Investment & Securities, said, "With U.S. June personal consumption expenditures (PCE) inflation matching expectations and strong results from big tech such as Microsoft and Amazon, the trend of expanding AI investment has been reaffirmed," and added, "As the perception spreads that deleveraging in global semiconductor stocks is nearing its end, bargain hunting is flowing into memory and AI-related names." Kang also said, "Chairman Chey Tae-won's stock purchases further spurred bargain hunting."
Foreign investors are leading the market spike. Today, foreigners are net buying more than 7 trillion won on the main board, while individuals alone are net selling about 7 trillion won. The previous one-day net buying record by foreigners was 3.14 trillion won on Oct. 2 last year. Today's net buying has more than doubled the previous record.
However, there are also suggestions that profit-taking could pour in after the short-term surge. Kang said, "As low valuations stand out, more than 7 trillion won in foreign funds has flowed in," and added, "Investors should be cautious about profit-taking after the rapid rise."
KOSDAQ also reclaimed the 700 level. After starting with gains in the 3% range, the KOSDAQ index widened its advance and is now up 61.06 points (9.47%) from the previous session at 705.84.
As semiconductor investment sentiment recovers, materials, parts, and equipment stocks are strong. Jusung Engineering(036930), Wonik IPS, and PSK are all up more than 20%.