The Kospi snapped a three-session losing streak Thursday, closing at 7,291.91 — but the gain was limited to just 0.62%. The index briefly reclaimed the 7,500 level during trading before giving back most of its advance amid volatile swings.
The benchmark index opened up 3.31% at 7,486.64 and extended its gains, at one point surging as high as 7,543.86 — a 4.10% intraday advance that pushed it above the 7,500 mark.
However, the index subsequently surrendered those gains and turned negative, sliding to 7,063.76 before oscillating for an extended period and ultimately settling with a marginal gain.
Samsung Electronics closed up 0.18% at 278,000 won ($184), while SK hynix finished 5.30% higher at 2.186 million won. Both stocks had fallen 6% and roughly 5%, respectively, on Wednesday but managed to rebound Thursday.
Samsung Electronics climbed as high as 291,500 won intraday, while SK hynix touched 2.27 million won, though both pared gains in the latter part of the session. SK hynix's relatively larger advance was driven by optimism surrounding its upcoming American depositary receipt listing on the Nasdaq.
KB Securities issued a research note Thursday reiterating a target price of 4.2 million won for SK hynix — the same level it had set on July 3.
"The planned Nasdaq ADR listing on Friday is expected to broaden access for global investors and trigger a simultaneous revaluation of both the US ADR and the Korean shares," said Kim Dong-won, an analyst at KB Securities. He cited TSMC as a precedent, noting that after the Taiwanese chipmaker listed its ADR in the United States, both its domestic shares and the US ADR underwent a virtuous cycle of revaluation.
Thursday's session again saw fierce buying and selling on the Kospi. Retail investors net sold 1.33 trillion won worth of shares, while foreign and institutional investors net bought 134.8 billion won and 1.29 trillion won, respectively.
Foreign investors, who had been net sellers for 13 consecutive sessions beginning June 19, extended their net buying for a second straight day following Wednesday's session. Retail investors, by contrast — dominant buyers for much of this year — continued net selling for a second consecutive day.
Turbulence in the share prices of market heavyweights Samsung Electronics and SK hynix appeared to weigh on investor sentiment as the Kospi swung sharply.
The Kosdaq closed up 1.15% from Wednesday at 794.00. Retail investors net sold 321.4 billion won, while foreign and institutional investors net bought 22 billion won and 308 billion won, respectively.
Among top Kosdaq-listed stocks by market cap, Alteogen fell 4.31% and Ecopro BM dropped 0.98%, while Ecopro gained 1.79%, Rainbow Robotics rose 0.58% and Jusung Engineering surged 11.50%.
Hansung Enterprise, a Kosdaq-listed company that had been facing delisting risk under the government's policy to remove stocks trading below 1,000 won, hit the daily upper limit Thursday, closing at 6,510 won.
Hansung Enterprise, founded in 1963, is a seafood processing company best known for its imitation crab product Kkaemi. Its stock surged after word spread that the company has sponsored a concert for UN Korean War veterans for 25 consecutive years, prompting consumers to launch campaigns to buy its products and shares.
The share price, which had been stuck at 4,210 won at the end of last month, has surged 54.63% since the start of this month.
jiyun@heraldcorp.com
