Samsung Electronics jumps more than 10% during trading
'350,000-won Samsung' within reach as analysts say stock still undervalued
Kospi's combined market cap breaks 7,000 trillion won for first time
A sharp Kospi rally triggered a buy-side sidecar Monday for the first time in three trading sessions, as Samsung Electronics — the market's largest stock by capitalization — surged more than 10% during trading to push its market cap above 2,000 trillion won ($1.37 trillion) for the first time in history.
Korea Exchange said the five-minute suspension of program buy asking price effectiveness was activated at 11:30:32 a.m. after a sharp move in the KOSPI 200 futures index.
At the time of activation, the KOSPI 200 futures index stood at 1,417.90, up 67.90 points, or 5.02%, from the previous session's close.
The last Kospi buy-side sidecar was triggered May 27, three trading sessions earlier.
A Kospi sidecar activates when the KOSPI 200 futures price rises 5 percent or more above its reference price and holds that level for one minute, suspending program buy orders for five minutes.
Samsung Electronics led the Kospi's advance. As of 11:52 a.m., the stock was trading at 344,250 won, up 8.60 percent on the day.
Samsung Electronics opened up 0.79 percent from the previous session and climbed as high as 349,000 won — a gain of 10.09 percent — around 10:50 a.m., putting the 350,000-won threshold within striking distance.
Samsung Electronics' market cap reached 2,014.04 trillion won at the same time, the first time the company's market cap has surpassed 2,000 trillion won.
Buoyed by Samsung Electronics' performance, the Kospi's combined market capitalization also crossed 7,000 trillion won for the first time in history.
Samsung Electronics' share price has surged 164.38 percent this year through its last trading session on May 29, yet analysts still see significant room for further growth.
"Samsung Electronics' second-quarter and full-year operating profit are estimated at 89 trillion won and 371 trillion won, respectively, which is expected to exceed market consensus over the past month of 88 trillion won and 358 trillion won," said Kim Young-geon, a researcher at Mirae Asset Securities. "At the current share price, the stock is in absolutely undervalued territory."
jiyun@heraldcorp.com
