Seoul: South Korean stocks extended their rally to close at a fresh record high Monday, driven by strong gains in major chipmakers and artificial intelligence (AI)-related shares. The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 311.85 points, or 3.68 percent, to close at 8,788.38, after hitting a new intraday high of 8,874.16.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the index opened at a record high and extended its gains, prompting the Korea Exchange (KRX) to activate a buy-side sidecar, which suspended program trading of KOSPI stocks for five minutes at around 11:30 a.m. The United States and Iran have been negotiating over a draft agreement aimed at ending the conflict and reopening the Strait of Hormuz, but the lack of a meaningful breakthrough over the weekend helped lift oil prices higher.
Despite the lack of progress in the Middle East talks, chipmakers rallied on expectations that the AI-driven semiconductor boom will continue. South Korea's exports surged 53 percent from a year earlier to a new monthly high of US$87.8 billion in May, driven by the semiconductor supercycle, government data showed. Robot and AI-related stocks gained on expectations of potential partnership opportunities ahead of U.S. chip giant Nvidia Corp. CEO Jensen Huang's visit to South Korea later this week.