Kospi surges for fourth straight day on chip rally as won weakens
Shares climbed 3.56 percent to continue winning streak as foreign and institutional investors scooped up chipmakers.
Published
A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 6,813.34 points on Aug. 13, up 234.3 points, or 3.56 percent, from the previous trading session.YONHAP
Shares ended sharply higher for the fourth straight session Thursday as investors scooped up major chipmakers. The won weakened against the dollar.
The Kospi rose 234.3 points, or 3.56 percent, to close at 6,813.34, following 0.65 percent, 0.73 percent and 3.68 percent gains over the previous three sessions.
After opening 2.96 percent higher, the Kospi further added gains as foreigners and institutions scooped up major chip heavyweights.
Trade volume was moderate at 416 million shares worth 34.45 trillion won ($24.22 billion) trading hands, with losers outnumbering gainers 532 to 332.
Foreigners and institutions purchased a net 2.09 trillion won and 679.8 billion won worth of stocks, respectively, while retail investors alone off-loaded a net 2.71 trillion won in shares.
Overnight, U.S. stocks tied to the AI sector rose. The S&P 500 gained 0.26 percent, closing just shy of a record high, while the Nasdaq composite advanced 0.54 percent. In contrast, the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged down 0.04 percent.
“Foreign buying remained strong, helped by relief that the U.S. consumer price index for July came in line with expectations and a series of strong earnings reports from AI infrastructure companies,” Kang Jin-hyeok, an analyst at Shinhan Securities, said.
In Seoul, large-cap stocks finished higher.
From left, the flag of Samsung Electronics at the company office in Seocho District, southern Seoul and the logo of SK hynix is seen outside the company's headquarters in Icheon, Gyeonggi.YONHAP
Semiconductor heavyweight Samsung Electronics shot up 4.89 percent to 268,000 won per share and its rival SK hynix gained 5.91 percent to 1.59 million won, both extending their winning streaks to three straight sessions.
SK Square, the parent of SK hynix, jumped 9.08 percent to 1.12 million won, and Samsung Electro-Mechanics, an electronics component affiliate of Samsung Electronics, shot up 12.58 percent to 1.5 million won.
LG Energy Solution went up 1.95 percent to 365,500 won, and No. 1 automaker Hyundai Motor increased 2.1 percent to 418,500 won.
The won weakened 3.7 won from the previous session to trade at 1,419.4 against the dollar at 3:30 p.m.
Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed higher. The yield on three-year Treasurys went down 1 basis point to 3.781 percent, while the return on the benchmark five-year government bonds shed 0.9 basis points to 4.016 percent.
