Kosdaq triggers buy-side sidecar for record third straight session as index surges nearly 6%

The Kospi swung more than 300 points intraday before turning higher to reclaim the 6,300 level on Tuesday. Strong buying by retail investors, concentrated in semiconductor stocks, drove the recovery, while foreigners and institutions remained net sellers, amplifying market volatility. The Kosdaq, meanwhile, surged nearly 6%, triggering a buy-side sidecar for a record third consecutive trading session.

According to Korea Exchange, the Kospi closed up 101.50 points, or 1.62 percent, at 6,358.95. The index opened 93.93 points, or 1.50 percent, higher at 6,351.38 and extended gains to as high as 6,389.40, before reversing course and sliding as low as 6,080.25 during the session. It then fluctuated before turning higher in the final stretch of trading.

Retail investors led the advance, posting net purchases of 818.6 billion won ($572 million), while foreigners and institutions were net sellers of 369.9 billion won and 539.4 billion won, respectively.

Domestic stocks opened with upward momentum, buoyed by an overnight rally on Wall Street, where all three major indexes rose on continued strength in technology shares.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.32 percent, while the S&P 500 and NASDAQ rose 1.48 percent and 2.13 percent, respectively. Nvidia climbed 2.93 percent and Microsoft advanced 4.93 percent, lifting the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index by 1.06 percent.

Oil prices also stabilized. West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 5.1 percent to $80.34 per barrel as geopolitical tensions between the United States and Iran eased.

Sentiment turned shaky during the session, however, after reports emerged that Chinese memory chipmaker CXMT was planning to build a new memory chip factory in Beijing. A late surge in retail buying, centered on semiconductor stocks, ultimately pushed the index into positive territory.

Among large-cap stocks, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix — which had each plunged more than 8 percent on Monday — ended higher after a volatile session, gaining 0.21 percent and 0.64 percent, respectively. Hanwha Solutions surged 8.06 percent after news that Hanwha Group Vice Chairman Kim Dong-kwan would participate in a rights offering. SK Square rose 3.41 percent, Samsung Biologics gained 3.72 percent, and Hanwha Aerospace jumped 9.25 percent.

Hyundai Motor fell 0.13 percent, KB Financial Group lost 0.41 percent, Shinhan Financial Group declined 0.39 percent, Samsung Life Insurance dropped 3.30 percent, and Samsung C&T slid 1.98 percent.

The Kosdaq closed up 43.37 points, or 5.88 percent, at 780.72, marking a third consecutive session of gains accompanied by a buy-side sidecar. The index had surged more than 11 percent on Friday and added 2.4 percent on Monday, extending its winning streak Tuesday. The cumulative gain over the three sessions reached 21 percent.

The Kosdaq opened up 10.84 points, or 1.47 percent, at 748.19 and extended its advance throughout the day, briefly touching 780.85 intraday.

Amid the sharp rally, the Kosdaq buy-side sidecar was triggered at around 10:47 a.m. Tuesday — the 30th activation of the mechanism on the Kosdaq this year, and the first time in history it has fired on three consecutive trading days.

The rotation into Kosdaq appeared to reflect a pause in the rally among large-cap semiconductor stocks. Some market observers attributed the shift in part to regulatory measures — including a hike in the minimum deposit requirement for single-stock leveraged products — which may have channeled funds toward the Kosdaq.

Institutions led buying on the Kosdaq, posting net purchases of 543.4 billion won. Retail investors and foreigners were net sellers of 258.6 billion won and 277.2 billion won, respectively.

Among the top Kosdaq stocks by market cap, all companies ranked first through 19th ended higher — including Alteogen, up 9.29 percent; Ecopro, up 5.94 percent; Ecopro BM, up 5.89 percent; Rainbow Robotics, up 1.85 percent; and Jusung Engineering, up 6.42 percent. Fadu fell 2.21 percent and Medigen Vaccine Biologics dropped 16.69 percent.