Kospi slips near 6,900 despite Nvidia surge, with eyes on Jackson Hole

South Korean stocks weakened Friday despite a surge in US technology shares overnight following Nvidia's blowout earnings. With much of the positive sentiment already priced into Samsung Electronics and SK hynix on Thursday, foreign and institutional investors turned to selling in tandem, keeping the Kospi hovering around the 6,900 level. A wait-and-see mood ahead of the Jackson Hole economic policy symposium is also weighing on the market as the index approaches the 7,000 mark.

According to Korea Exchange, the Kospi was trading at 6,899.21 as of 9:50 a.m. Friday, down 13.16 points, or 0.19 percent, from the previous session. The index had opened 65.83 points, or 0.95 percent, lower at 6,846.54 before paring its losses.

On the Kospi market, foreign investors and institutions were net sellers of 200.1 billion won ($145 million) and 71.1 billion won, respectively. Retail investors were net buyers of 40.4 billion won.

Among large-cap stocks, Samsung Electronics fell 2,500 won, or 0.94 percent, to 263,500 won. SK hynix dropped 16,000 won, or 0.92 percent, to 1.714 million won.

Nvidia surged overnight on Wall Street, but South Korea's major semiconductor stocks moved in the opposite direction. Analysts attributed the weakness to expectations for Nvidia's strong results having already been largely priced in on Thursday, and to the relatively subdued performance of memory and storage-related stocks on US markets.

On Wall Street on Thursday (local time), Nvidia jumped 8.74 percent on earnings that beat market expectations and a strong growth outlook. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rose 2.33 percent. The tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite gained 1.57 percent, the S&P 500 advanced 0.72 percent, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.20 percent.

Within the semiconductor sector, however, performance was mixed. Micron fell 0.32 percent, SanDisk dropped 0.96 percent, and Western Digital declined 1.47 percent. Seagate managed only a 0.10 percent gain. Buying was concentrated in Nvidia and other AI-related technology and software stocks. Concerns that AI would displace the software industry eased following Salesforce's strong earnings, lifting Palantir 4.75 percent and Oracle 2.06 percent.

Among other large-cap stocks, SK Square fell 1.03 percent, LG Energy Solution dropped 1.75 percent, Samsung Biologics declined 4.08 percent, and Samsung C&T slipped 0.40 percent. Samsung Electro-Mechanics bucked the trend, rising 4.04 percent, while Hyundai Motor edged up 0.25 percent.

Kosdaq also weakened. At the same time, the index was down 3.03 points, or 0.36 percent, at 834.62, after opening up 2.42 points, or 0.29 percent, at 853.23 before swinging between gains and losses.

On the Kosdaq market, retail investors were net buyers of 126.5 billion won. Foreign investors and institutions were net sellers of 103.1 billion won and 23.5 billion won, respectively.

Among Kosdaq large-cap stocks, Alteogen fell 0.48 percent, Ecopro dropped 3.04 percent, Ecopro BM declined 2.12 percent, Rainbow Robotics slid 2.65 percent, and EO Technics lost 1.23 percent. Jusung Engineering rose 1.06 percent, Wonik IPS gained 0.62 percent, and Leeno Industrial advanced 0.90 percent.

Market participants see the Jackson Hole symposium as a key variable that could determine the Kospi's near-term direction, given that the index is now within striking distance of the 7,000 level.

"On Friday, the domestic market is expected to show sector differentiation amid a cautious, wait-and-see tone — driven by the pre-pricing effect from Thursday and investors holding back ahead of Fed Chair Kevin Warsh's speech at Jackson Hole — even as the NASDAQ and Philadelphia Semiconductor Index benefit from Nvidia and Salesforce," said Han Ji-young, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities. "Beyond Friday's price action, what deserves attention from the perspective of the Kospi's future direction is whether the index can break through and hold above 7,000 points — a level it has challenged multiple times this month."