SEOUL, May 14 (AJP) - South Korea's main KOSPI extended its record-setting climb to outshine regional and global peers as it moved closer to a new four-digit milestone.
The benchmark index touched a high of 7,991.04 before settling at 7,981.41 Thursday, up 137.40 points, or 1.75 percent from the previous session.
Retail investors bought 1.84 trillion won ($1.26 billion) worth of shares and institutions added 190.6 billion won, while foreign investors sold 2.14 trillion won.
Samsung Electronics rose 4.23 percent to 296,000 won and briefly touched 299,500 won during the session, approaching the closely watched 300,000-won threshold.
The rally followed a JP Morgan note reaffirming its buy rating on the stock despite ongoing labor disputes at Samsung’s chip operations. The bank said stronger memory pricing and the broader AI-driven semiconductor upcycle would likely outweigh near-term operational risks.
SK hynix slipped 0.30 percent to 1,970,000 won after briefly hitting a record high of 1,994,000 won. The divergence between Samsung and SK hynix reflected a broader rotation within semiconductor shares, as investors shifted toward Samsung after SK hynix’s recent AI-driven rally.
AI-related software and infrastructure shares also gained sharply. LG CNS surged 17.1 percent to 86,100 won after unveiling a new enterprise AI platform and a Korean-language large language model developed with Cohere. The company said internal testing showed competitive performance against leading global AI models.
Elsewhere, LG Display gained 8.3 percent to 15,340 won on expectations of stronger demand for advanced display panels tied to AI devices, while Jeju Semiconductor jumped 28.4 percent to 75,600 won as speculative buying continued in smaller chip-related stocks.
Airline shares also advanced. Korean Air rose 6.02 percent to 27,300 won as investors focused on the planned integration of Hanjin Group’s three low-cost carriers, Jin Air, Air Busan and Air Seoul, which analysts expect could reduce competition and improve profitability in Korea’s budget airline market.
Construction shares moved higher on renewed momentum in Seoul’s redevelopment market. Daewoo E&C climbed 12.6 percent to 32,600 won after strong subscription demand and rising apartment prices in Seoul’s Seocho district boosted sentiment toward builders with major residential exposure.
On the downside, shipbuilding and power equipment shares pulled back following recent gains. HD Hyundai Heavy Industries fell 8.5 percent to 671,000 won, while Doosan Enerbility slipped 2.4 percent to 117,100 won and Samsung Heavy Industries dropped 2.9 percent to 30,150 won as investors locked in profits after a sharp rally tied to defense and energy infrastructure themes.
The junior KOSDAQ rose 1.20 percent to close at 1,191.09 after moving between 1,162.20 and 1,194.03 during the session. Retail investors bought 91.3 billion won worth of shares and institutions added 58.9 billion won, while foreign investors sold 135.4 billion won.
Alteogen surged 8.76 percent to become the KOSDAQ market’s largest stock by capitalization, while EcoPro BM and EcoPro gained 6.04 percent and 5.41 percent, respectively.
Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.2 percent to 26,439.80, Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.0 percent to 62,654.10, and China’s Shanghai Composite slipped 0.9 percent to 4,205.40.
The rally in Seoul followed another strong session on Wall Street, where the S&P 500 rose 0.58 percent to a record 7,444.25 and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.20 percent to 26,402.34 as investors continued to bet that AI-driven earnings growth would offset inflation concerns. NVIDIA rose 2.3 percent overnight, while Micron Technology climbed 4.8 percent.
The Korean won closed little changed at 1,491.00 per dollar, up 0.40 won from the previous session.
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