Kospi surges past 7,150 in early trade as US semiconductor rally lifts Samsung, SK hynix

The Kospi surged more than 2 percent in early trade Tuesday, breaking through the 7,150 level, as an overnight rally in US semiconductor stocks lifted Samsung Electronics and SK hynix and drew buying from foreign and institutional investors.

As of 9:19 a.m., the Kospi was up 1.93 percent at 7,143.04. The index opened 153.89 points, or 2.20 percent, higher at 7,161.61 and climbed as far as 7,171.44, a gain of 2.34 percent, during the session.

On the Kospi market, foreign investors and institutions were net buyers of 153.1 billion won ($111 million) and 352.5 billion won, respectively, while retail investors were net sellers of 746.2 billion won. The pattern of simultaneous net purchases by foreigners and institutions alongside net selling by retail investors has continued for three consecutive sessions.

Large-cap semiconductor stocks led the advance. Samsung Electronics was trading up 2.55 percent at 281,000 won, while SK hynix gained 3.32 percent to 1.93 million won. At their intraday peaks, Samsung Electronics touched 283,500 won and SK hynix reached 1.935 million won.

Among other top stocks by market capitalization, Samsung Electro-Mechanics rose 6.58 percent, SK Square gained 3.02 percent, Samsung C&T added 1.50 percent, Hyundai Motor climbed 1.39 percent and LG Energy Solution edged up 0.43 percent. KB Financial Group and Hana Financial Group bucked the trend, falling 1.32 percent and 0.88 percent, respectively.

Overnight on Wall Street, all three major indexes rose on strength in AI-related stocks. The NASDAQ Composite closed up 2.3 percent at 27,122.09, setting a new all-time closing high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 gained 0.7 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively.

Meta surged 11.43 percent after its personal AI agent "Muse," launched Sept. 8, topped the Apple App Store's free apps chart. Optimism over the spread of AI and continued investment helped ease recent concerns about a slowdown in AI momentum, channeling fresh buying into semiconductor stocks. AMD and Intel jumped 9.95 percent and 12.14 percent, respectively, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rose 4.29 percent.

Hopes for peace negotiations between the United States and Iran also supported investor sentiment. Expectations that a summit-level meeting between the two countries could take place ahead of the UN General Assembly pushed international oil prices lower for a fourth consecutive session. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery fell 4.5 percent, and Brent crude for November delivery dropped 3.4 percent. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury note declined 2 basis points to 4.972 percent.

At the same time, the Kosdaq was up 0.82 percent at 843.19. The index opened 9.87 points, or 1.18 percent, higher at 846.14 and held its gains through early trade.

On the Kosdaq market, retail investors were net buyers of 106.3 billion won, while foreign and institutional investors were net sellers of 81.3 billion won and 19.9 billion won, respectively.

Among top Kosdaq stocks by market capitalization, Ecopro rose 1.13 percent, Ecopro BM gained 0.97 percent and Alteogen edged up 0.20 percent. HLB fell 0.94 percent, EO Technics dropped 0.31 percent and Robotis slipped 0.16 percent.