Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix surge in tandem on Micron's strong results
Kospi climbs as high as 8,982 intraday, just 18 points shy of 9,000
Retail investors post net purchases of over 15 trillion won for fifth straight session
The Kospi surged as much as 6 percent in early trading Thursday, bringing the 9,000 mark within striking distance. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix led the rally after US memory chipmaker Micron delivered an earnings surprise overnight, reaffirming growth momentum across the semiconductor sector.
As of 9:30 a.m., the Kospi was up 5.65 percent at 8,949.91, according to Korea Exchange. The index opened 2.74 percent higher at 8,703.42 before extending its gains in early trade, touching an intraday high of 8,982.22 — a 6.03 percent advance from the previous close — leaving it just 17.78 points short of the 9,000 level.
The two semiconductor heavyweights drove the index's sharp rise. As of 9:30 a.m., Samsung Electronics was up 20,500 won ($13), or 6.02 percent, at 361,000 won. SK Hynix surged 10.04 percent to 2,839,000 won. SK Square gained 6.84 percent to 1,922,000 won, while Samsung Electronics preferred shares rose 8.67 percent to 232,000 won.
Micron's strong overnight results fueled investor sentiment toward domestic semiconductor stocks. The company said revenue for its fiscal third quarter (March–May) reached approximately 64 trillion won, a 345.7 percent increase from the same period a year earlier, while its operating profit margin rose to 81.2 percent — more than 10 percentage points above the previous quarter. Micron, which had closed down 0.3 percent in regular trading before the announcement, jumped more than 15 percent in after-hours trading.
Company-specific catalysts added to the gains for both chipmakers. Samsung Electronics announced it would soon launch a 90 trillion won share buyback, while SK Hynix said it plans to list its American depositary receipts on the Nasdaq on July 10.
Samsung Group affiliates broadly advanced. Samsung C&T led the top-10 market cap stocks with a gain of 14.02 percent. Samsung Life rose 6.00 percent, Samsung Electro-Mechanics gained 3.77 percent, and Samsung Biologics added 2.96 percent. Hyundai Motor and LG Energy Solution were little changed, up 0.10 percent and 0.55 percent, respectively.
The sharp index rise triggered a sidecar on the main bourse in early trade. Korea Exchange halted buy-side program trading orders on the main market at 9:07:03 a.m. after KOSPI 200 futures prices surged more than 5 percent from the previous day's close.
On the demand side, foreign selling was met by retail and institutional buying. As of 9:30 a.m., institutions and retail investors posted net purchases of 358 billion won and 525.7 billion won, respectively, on the main market. Foreign investors recorded net selling of 890.6 billion won.
The divergence between foreign selling and retail buying stretched into a fifth consecutive session. Foreign investors sold a net total of approximately 12.7 trillion won on the main market over five consecutive trading sessions from June 19 through Thursday's intraday trading, according to Korea Exchange. Over the same period, retail investors bought a net 15.49 trillion won, also for five straight sessions.
Kosdaq also advanced. At the same time, Kosdaq was up 12.14 points at 921.45. On the Kosdaq market, retail investors posted net purchases of 143.9 billion won, while institutions and foreign investors recorded net selling of 47.7 billion won and 81.8 billion won, respectively.
kacew@heraldcorp.com
