Seoul:Seoul shares experienced a significant rise of more than 6 percent on Wednesday, driven by a rally in chipmakers following SK hynix's report of record quarterly earnings and the announcement of additional shareholder returns. Meanwhile, the Korean won weakened against the U.S. dollar.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) increased by 374.1 points, or 6.63 percent, closing at 6,012.44, after reaching a peak of 6,032.28. During the tech-driven market rally, the Korea Exchange activated a buy-side sidecar shortly before 11 a.m., temporarily suspending program trading buy orders for KOSPI-listed stocks for five minutes. This measure is implemented when KOSPI 200 futures rise by at least 5 percent and maintain that level for at least one minute and was activated for the second consecutive session.
SK hynix, the world's second-largest memory chip maker, reported record-high revenue and operating profit for the third quarter, attributed to strong memory chip demand amid the artificial intelligence (AI) boom. The company also announced a shareholder return program valued at over 100 trillion won (US$75.3 billion) for 2026. Investors are also anticipating the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision, scheduled for early Thursday (Korean time), for insights into the future trajectory of U.S. interest rates.
Trade volume was moderate, with 223.2 million shares worth 19.83 trillion won changing hands. Advancers outnumbered decliners 580 to 288. Foreign and institutional investors purchased a net 815.83 billion won and 960.79 billion won, respectively, while individual investors sold a net 1.8 trillion won. Market heavyweights saw notable gains, with Samsung Electronics rising 9.01 percent to 242,000 won and SK hynix soaring 10.89 percent to 1.49 million won. SK Square, the parent company of SK hynix, increased 11.23 percent to 921,000 won, and Samsung Electro-Mechanics rose 8.74 percent to 1.3 million won. The Korean won was trading at 1,337.7 won against the U.S. dollar at 330 p.m., down 10.7 won from the previous session's close.