Kospi closes up 3.29% on foreign net purchases of 665 billion won

Buy-side sidecar triggered for first time since Aug. 20

Strong US AI earnings, expanded investment fuel semiconductor demand hopes

The Kospi and other indexes are displayed on a screen at the dealing room of Hana Bank's headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul, on Wednesday. The Kospi closed up more than 3 percent, finishing the regular session 182.92 points, or 3.29 percent, higher at 5,735.66. [Yonhap]
The Kospi and other indexes are displayed on a screen at the dealing room of Hana Bank's headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul, on Wednesday. The Kospi closed up more than 3 percent, finishing the regular session 182.92 points, or 3.29 percent, higher at 5,735.66. [Yonhap]

The Kospi surged more than 3 percent on Wednesday, driven by foreign net purchases, to reclaim the 5,730 level. Strong earnings from US artificial intelligence companies and a sharp rise in domestic semiconductor exports lifted investor sentiment.

According to Korea Exchange, the Kospi closed up 182.92 points, or 3.29 percent, at 5,735.66.

The index opened 113.60 points, or 2.05 percent, higher at 5,666.34 and at one point during the session soared as high as 5,816.43.

As the Kospi surged, a buy-side sidecar — which suspends program buy orders for five minutes — was triggered on the main bourse at around 10:51 a.m. It was the first time the Kospi buy-side sidecar had been activated in about two months, since Aug. 20.

Foreign investors led the rally, turning net buyers with 665 billion won ($501 million) in net purchases on the main market. Individual investors and institutions were net sellers of 1.13 trillion won and 71 billion won, respectively. Other corporations were net buyers of 543 billion won.

Investor sentiment improved, particularly in the semiconductor sector, after a string of strong earnings reports and announcements of expanded investment from US AI companies overnight.

"SpaceX announced plans to expand AI computing infrastructure investment and projected continued growth in computing demand alongside a persistent supply shortage," said Lee Kyung-min, an analyst at Daishin Securities. "This raised expectations for AI infrastructure investment and semiconductor demand, improving investor sentiment."

Lee added that Super Micro Computer's gross margin of 12 to 12.5 percent also beat market forecasts, reconfirming robust demand for AI data center servers. "The positive outlook for the semiconductor industry has been reinforced," he said.

Riding that momentum, the two semiconductor heavyweights — Samsung Electronics and SK hynix — surged 5.67 percent and 5.81 percent, respectively.

Among other large-cap stocks, SK Square rose 5.13 percent, Samsung Electro-Mechanics gained 1.13 percent, Samsung Biologics added 1.87 percent, Samsung Life Insurance climbed 3.38 percent and Samsung C&T advanced 5.45 percent.

The Kosdaq closed up 10.79 points, or 1.38 percent, at 792.76.

The index opened 11.43 points, or 1.46 percent, higher at 793.40 and briefly crossed the 800 mark during the session before giving back some of its gains as buying interest concentrated in large-cap Kospi stocks.

On the Kosdaq, foreign investors were net sellers of 172 billion won. Individual investors and institutions were net buyers of 52 billion won and 105 billion won, respectively.

Elice, an AI data center and neo-cloud company that plunged 32 percent on its Kosdaq debut on Tuesday, closed at the daily upper limit on Wednesday.


moon@heraldcorp.com