SEOUL, May 22 (AJP) - South Korean stocks erased early gains and turned lower Friday morning as foreign investors took profits after earlier record-breaking rally, while biotech and secondary-battery shares powered rally on the KOSDAQ.
The benchmark KOSPI rose 0.62 percent to 7,863.71 at the opening bell, after surging 8.42 percent Thursday in its biggest single-day point gain on record. However, the index later turned lower as foreign investors extended heavy selling. As of 9:57 a.m., the benchmark index slipped 0.20 percent to 7,800.19, while the KOSDAQ jumped 5.09 percent to 1,162.25, triggering a sidecar trading curb for a second straight session.
Retail investors remained aggressive buyers, purchasing a net 1.05 trillion won worth of KOSPI shares, while foreign investors sold a net 1.16 trillion won.
The South Korean won remained stable, trading at 1,507.90 won against the greenback, compared with the previous session’s close of 1,506.10 won.
Investor sentiment improved overnight after U.S. stocks ended higher on growing expectations of progress in negotiations involving Iran, easing concerns over a broader Middle East conflict and helping push oil prices and Treasury yields lower.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.55 percent to a record close of 50,285.66, while the S&P 500 added 0.17 percent and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.09 percent.
Chip-related shares remained a key driver of market sentiment. While Nvidia fell 1.77 percent on profit-taking despite strong earnings, memory-related stocks rallied after the company highlighted rising demand for high-capacity storage and memory products in AI data centers during its conference call. Micron Technology jumped 4.11 percent and SanDisk soared 10.75 percent, lifting sentiment toward South Korea’s semiconductor market.
Samsung Electronics erased early gains after briefly touching the 300,000-won mark for the first time in intraday trading, falling 1.84 percent to 294,000 won after profit-taking accelerated following the previous session’s sharp rally. The stock also remained in focus as the company’s labor union began a six-day vote Friday on a tentative wage agreement reached earlier this week.
Semiconductor equipment maker Jusung Engineering also surged 9.88 percent.
The fellow chipmaker SK hynix slipped 0.46 percent to 1,931,000 won and SK Square declined 0.59 percent to 1,172,000 won.
Among auto shares, Hyundai Motor dropped 2.55 percent to 649,000 won and Kia fell 2.20 percent to 164,200 won.
Battery and industrial shares traded higher, with LG Energy Solution rising 2.49 percent to 411,000 won, Samsung Electro-Mechanics gaining 4.07 percent to 1,253,000 won and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries advancing 2.38 percent to 688,000 won. Doosan Enerbility also climbed 3.69 percent to 112,400 won.
Financial and defense-related shares were mixed. Samsung Life Insurance rose 1.13 percent to 359,000 won, KB Financial gained 2.25 percent to 159,300 won and Hanwha Aerospace edged up 0.88 percent to 1,259,000 won, while Samsung C&T added 0.36 percent to 420,000 won. Samsung Biologics also rose 2.72 percent to 1,433,000 won.
The junior KOSDAQ traded broadly higher, led by gains in biotech and secondary-battery shares. EcoPro BM surged 11.79 percent to 218,000 won, and EcoPro jumped 16.72 percent to 151,500 won. Biopharmaceutical shares were also strong, with Alteogen rising 7.68 percent to 378,500 won, Samchundang Pharm gaining 6.76 percent to 379,000 won and HLB climbing 11.54 percent to 52,200 won.
Among other KOSDAQ heavyweights, Rainbow Robotics advanced 2.29 percent to 760,000 won, Leeno Industrial rose 1.54 percent to 105,600 won and EO Technics added 3.46 percent to 568,000 won. EcoPro Materials climbed 7.96 percent to 111,200 won, while JUSUNG Engineering gained 2.38 percent to 189,600 won.
Oil prices also eased with Brent crude futures falling 2.32 percent to settle at $102.58 a barrel, and West Texas Intermediate crude dropped 1.94 percent to $96.35. The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note slipped 0.8 basis point to 4.575 percent.
Treasury yields nevertheless remained elevated as investors braced for a more hawkish Fed. Although the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield slipped 0.8 basis point overnight, it remained at 4.57 percent, while the two-year yield traded near 4.07 percent.
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