Kospi steadies near 6,300 after early gains fade; Samsung Electronics rises while SK Hynix slips

The Kospi opened higher Friday but quickly gave back gains, trading in mixed territory in early session.

As of 9:27 a.m., the Kospi stood at 6,314.12, up 17.74 points, or 0.28 percent, from the previous close, according to Korea Exchange.

The index opened up 68.69 points, or 1.09 percent, at 6,365.07 and climbed as high as 6,415.60 before trimming gains and swinging between advances and losses. The benchmark had tumbled 4.58 percent on Thursday, falling below the 6,300 level.

Foreign investors and institutional investors were net buyers of 293.3 billion won ($207 million) and 32.8 billion won, respectively, while retail investors were net sellers of 287.8 billion won. Foreign investors were, however, net sellers of 6.6 billion won in the KOSPI 200 futures market.

Wall Street's three major indexes fell overnight as worries over a potential blockade of the Strait of Hormuz intensified.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.85 percent, while the S&P 500 and NASDAQ declined 0.18 percent and 0.06 percent, respectively.

The moves came after foreign media reported that Iran was reviewing legislation that would ban vessels belonging to hostile nations, including the United States and Israel, from transiting the Strait of Hormuz. Brent crude futures settled up 3.8 percent at $82.49 per barrel on the news.

Among technology stocks, SanDisk and Western Digital tumbled 6.81 percent and 13.03 percent, respectively, after their earnings releases. SK Hynix's American depositary receipts also fell 4.97 percent.

Nvidia slipped 0.10 percent and Micron Technology fell 1.31 percent, though Broadcom gained 0.55 percent and AMD rose 1.50 percent. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index edged up 0.33 percent.

Despite the overnight weakness on Wall Street, South Korean stocks drew bargain-hunting demand after Thursday's steep losses.

"The domestic market will attempt a rebound Friday, supported by bargain buying following Thursday's sharp drop, even as uncertainty over the Strait of Hormuz comes back into focus," said Han Ji-young, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities.

The upside for the index remains somewhat capped by caution ahead of the US jobs report, due out later Friday evening Korean Standard Time. Rising global oil prices are also weighing on investor sentiment.

Among large-cap stocks, Samsung Electronics gained 1.52 percent, Samsung Electro-Mechanics rose 1.14 percent and LG Energy Solution advanced 2.75 percent. SK Hynix fell 0.80 percent, while SK Square dropped 0.72 percent, Hyundai Motor declined 2.13 percent, Kia fell 1.42 percent and HD Hyundai Heavy slid 2.27 percent.

The Kosdaq was up 2.49 points, or 0.31 percent, at 804.16 at the same time, extending its winning streak to six consecutive sessions since July 31.

The Kosdaq opened up 5.95 points, or 0.74 percent, at 807.62 and rose as high as 814.80 before paring gains. The index also briefly turned negative during the session.

Individual and institutional investors were net buyers of 38.8 billion won and 16.4 billion won, respectively, while foreign investors were net sellers of 55.4 billion won.

Among top Kosdaq stocks by market cap, Alteogen gained 0.68 percent, Ecopro rose 4.67 percent, Ecopro BM advanced 4.20 percent, Jusung Engineering edged up 0.30 percent and HLB climbed 2.70 percent. Rainbow Robotics fell 3.17 percent, while Wonik IPS and EO Technics each declined 1.19 percent.