Seoul:South Korean shares closed slightly higher on Friday, recovering from a significant drop of over 3 percent in the previous session. This recovery was driven by investors seeking bargains in major chip stocks, amidst ongoing concerns about investments in the artificial intelligence (AI) value chain. The Korean won also strengthened against the U.S. dollar.
According to Yonhap News Agency, after experiencing volatile trading, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose by 16.53 points, or 0.3 percent, to close at 5,550.30. Despite opening 2.36 percent lower, individual investors, initially net sellers, shifted to net buying by the end of the session.
The trading volume was light, with 236 million shares exchanged, valued at 16.5 trillion won (approximately US$12.4 billion). Declining stocks significantly outnumbered advancing ones, with 716 decliners compared to 173 advancers. Foreign investors sold a net 98.3 billion won, while institutions and individuals purchased a net 86.8 billion won and 4.5 billion won, respectively.
In international markets, U.S. stocks showed mixed results overnight. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 0.02 percent, while the S&P 500 fell by 1.21 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped by 2.6 percent. Major technology firms faced losses, with Micron Technology plunging 6.26 percent, Nvidia decreasing by 4.4 percent, and Intel declining by 8.04 percent.
In Seoul, large-cap shares delivered mixed performances. Samsung Electronics, a market leader, increased by 0.47 percent to close at 215,500 won. Rival chipmaker SK hynix rose by 4.42 percent to 1.28 million won after initially opening lower. This gain followed the announcement that SK hynix decided to halt plans to list its U.S. subsidiary, Solidigm. This decision also positively impacted SK Square, an AI investment firm, which saw its shares increase by 3.2 percent to 775,000 won.
Solidigm's role within a complex corporate structure—where SK Square is the parent company of SK hynix, which in turn owns Solidigm—had raised concerns about a potential holding company discount if a separate listing occurred. Lee Kyoung-min, an analyst at Daishin Securities, noted that concerns over AI investments, particularly from the United States, had already been factored into the market after Samsung Electronics and SK hynix experienced declines in the previous session. The sentiment towards SK hynix improved following the announcement that Solidigm's IPO plans were scrapped.
The Korean won was quoted at 1,324.6 against the U.S. dollar at 330 p.m., marking an increase of 0.4 won from the previous trading session's close.