Seoul: South Korean stocks closed more than 2 percent higher Monday as investors scooped up big-cap tech shares amid improved sentiment stemming from revived artificial intelligence (AI) confidence. The local currency lost ground against the U.S. dollar.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) surged 85.38 points, or 2.12 percent, to close at 4,105.93. Trade volume was moderate at 312.4 million shares worth 12.9 trillion won (US$8.7 billion), with winners outnumbering losers 534 to 340.
Foreign investors net purchased 1.1 trillion won worth of local shares, while institutions bought 1.6 trillion won. Retail investors dumped a combined 2.67 trillion won. The tech-heavy KOSDAQ also gained 13.87 points, or 1.52 percent, to end at 929.14 amid expectations over government policy aimed at boosting the secondary market.
"The KOSPI tracked the strong performance of Wall Street on Friday, with semiconductor shares rebounding following a short-term correction sparked by woes over AI profitability and delay in investments," Lee Kyoung-min, an analyst at Daishin Securities, said. "There are also expectations for a year-end Santa rally," he added.
On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.38 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 1.31 percent, and the S and P 500 closed 0.88 percent higher. AI chip giant Nvidia jumped 3.93 percent on reports that the U.S. government was reviewing the possible sale of the company's advanced H200 AI chips to China. Oracle shot up 6.63 percent on reports that it is pushing to form a new joint venture for TikTok's U.S. operations, and AMD soared 6.15 percent.
In Seoul, top tech giant Samsung Electronics advanced 3.95 percent to 110,500 won, while its chipmaking rival SK hynix jumped 6.03 percent to 580,000 won. AI investment firm SK Square shot up 8.43 percent to 315,000 won, and Hanmi Semiconductor skyrocketed 9.11 percent to 127,000 won.
Leading battery maker LG Energy Solution increased 2.77 percent to 389,500 won, and Korea's biggest zinc smelter Korea Zinc escalated 5.57 percent to 1.38 million won. Financial shares were also strong, with KB Financial up 1.04 percent to 126,500 won, and Shinhan Financial rising 1.68 percent to 78,600 won. Insurance firm Samsung Life Insurance jumped 3.42 percent to 160,300 won.
Mirae Asset Venture Investment, listed on the secondary tech-laced KOSDAQ index, soared 29.98 percent to 22,200 won following reports that SpaceX could go public next year. Mirae Asset is known to have invested US$278 million in the U.S. space giant from 2022-23.
The Korean won was quoted at 1,480.1 won against the greenback at 3:30 p.m., down 3.8 won from the previous session's close. Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, ended mixed. The yield on three-year Treasurys lost 1.1 basis points to 2.999 percent, and the return on the benchmark five-year government bonds added 0.5 basis point to 3.245 percent.