Seoul: South Korean stocks were trading more than 3 percent higher late Tuesday morning, recovering from the previous session's over 8 percent plunge, as major semiconductor shares bounced back amid a ceasefire between Israel and Iran and investors' confidence in the artificial intelligence (AI) industry. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) had added 260.6 points, or 3.48 percent, to 7,745.01 as of 11:20 a.m., after rising as high as 7,847.74.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the Korea Exchange had activated a buy-side sidecar for the KOSPI at around 9:12 a.m., halting program trading for five minutes. Program trading on the KOSDAQ was also suspended for five minutes from 9:28 a.m. after the bourse issued a buy-side sidecar for the secondary index. The rebound came as investors moved to purchase tech shares after the KOSPI slid more than 8 percent Monday on concerns over AI profitability and a possible rate hike by the U.S. Federal Reserve, following the release of hotter-than-expected U.S. jobs data for May.
Overnight, major U.S. indexes closed mixed as investors digested news that Israel and Iran halted attacks on each other after a warning from U.S. President Donald Trump, and as technology stocks bounced back after their steep fall Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.16 percent lower, while the S and P 500 rose 0.3 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite added 0.86 percent. Micron surged 9.87 percent, SanDisk increased 5.3 percent, artificial intelligence chip giant Nvidia gained 1.73 percent, and AMD went up 5.14 percent on bets that the AI boom is not over.
In Seoul, market top-cap Samsung Electronics jumped 3.38 percent, while its chipmaking rival SK hynix soared 7.8 percent. AI investment firm SK Square escalated 5.55 percent, and Samsung Electro-Mechanics shot up 9.8 percent. Power plant manufacturer Doosan Enerbility climbed 4.08 percent, and bio giant Samsung Biologics increased 2.9 percent. Financial shares were also strong, with KB Financial up 1.85 percent and Shinhan Financial rising 3.71 percent.
Auto shares were mixed. Hyundai Motor turned lower, losing 2.35 percent, but its sister company Kia soared 7.46 percent. Hyundai Mobis slid 7.52 percent. Internet portal operator Naver plunged 10.22 percent following its rally the previous day, and home appliances maker LG Electronics nosedived 12.87 percent. The Korean won was trading at 1,517.4 won against the U.S. dollar at 11:20 a.m., up 17.6 won from the previous session.