Kospi Rises 0.97% Above 7,900 Early Despite US Inflation Concerns; Samsung Electronics Gains, SK Hynix Slips

Kosdaq also rises

South Korea’s Kospi climbed back above the 7,900 level in early trading despite concerns over US inflation. Samsung Electronics shares rose sharply, while SK Hynix remained under pressure after failing to hold above 2 million won.

As of 9:32 a.m. on May 14, the Kospi had gained 76.15 points, or 0.97%, to 7,920.16. The benchmark index opened up 0.38%.

On the main board, retail investors were net buyers of 1.7721 trillion won. Foreign and institutional investors were net sellers of 1.6055 trillion won and 269.8 billion won, respectively.

The two chip heavyweights moved in opposite directions. Samsung Electronics rose more than 4%, while SK Hynix fell 0.71%. SK Hynix traded as high as 2.021 million won in premarket trading before the open, briefly topping 2 million won, but failed to reach that level in regular trading.

Hyundai Motor, LG Energy Solution and Samsung C&T also advanced. SK Square, Samsung Electro-Mechanics, Doosan Enerbility and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries declined.

The Kosdaq also rose. As of the same time, the index was up 3.46 points, or 0.29%, at 1,180.39. On the Kosdaq market, retail and institutional investors were net buyers of 92.1 billion won and 23.8 billion won, respectively, while foreign investors were net sellers of 120.1 billion won.

The won-dollar exchange rate opened lower. In Seoul trading, the currency opened at 1,489.1 won per dollar, down 0.2 won from the previous session.

Lee Su, Hankyung.com reporter, 2su@hankyung.com