Kospi Reclaims 5,800 as Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix Rise on Chip Strength
Summary
- The Kospi and Kosdaq each rose more than 3% on strength in semiconductor stocks and falling international oil prices.
- SK Hynix led gains in chip shares after reporting a 632.1% increase in third-quarter operating profit and unveiling a 100 trillion won shareholder return plan.
- Foreign net buying, gains in major large-cap stocks, and strength among top market-cap names continued in both the Kospi and Kosdaq.
Forecast Trend Report by Period
South Korea’s Kospi rose more than 3% in early trading on October 28, reclaiming the 5,800 level as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix advanced.
As of 9:14 a.m., the Kospi had gained 181.84 points, or 3.23%, to 5,820.18 from the previous session. The Kosdaq was also up 24.38 points, or 3.28%, at 768.21.
The rebound in South Korean equities was driven by strength in U.S. semiconductor stocks and a decline in crude oil prices. Easing tensions in the Middle East also reduced pressure from oil prices and interest rates, supporting investor sentiment.
Han Ji-young, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities, cited favorable news related to Anthropic and Broadcom, along with gains in U.S. chip stocks, as key drivers of the local market’s rise. Still, he said sector performance could diverge ahead of SK Hynix’s post-earnings conference call, the Federal Open Market Committee meeting and results from major Big Tech companies.
SK Hynix’s strong earnings and its large shareholder return plan led semiconductor shares higher. The company said in a regulatory filing that third-quarter operating profit rose 632.1% from a year earlier to 8.33338 trillion won. It also unveiled a shareholder return plan totaling 100 trillion won for this year.
Samsung Electronics rose 3.15% to 229,000 won, while SK Hynix gained 2.24% to 1.371 million won. Other heavyweight stocks also advanced, including Samsung Life Insurance, up 5.49%, Samsung C&T, up 3.49%, SK Square, up 2.90%, and KB Financial Group, up 2.30%.
On the benchmark stock market, retail and foreign investors were net buyers of 81.4 billion won and 34.9 billion won, respectively, while institutions were net sellers of 121.7 billion won. On the Kosdaq, foreigners were net buyers of 24.2 billion won, while retail and institutional investors were net sellers of 11.4 billion won and 10.8 billion won, respectively.
Most of the Kosdaq’s largest stocks by market capitalization also rose. Rainbow Robotics gained 6.12%, EcoPro advanced 5.38%, EO Technics rose 5.32%, EcoPro BM added 3.70%, and Alteogen climbed 3.20%.
