The KOSPI index surged over 5% in morning trading, briefly reclaiming the 7,100 mark before giving back some gains. The rise was fueled by strong performances in U.S. semiconductor stocks, with major companies like Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix seeing significant increases as foreign investors net bought over 1.3 trillion won, boosting the index.
As of 11:56 a.m. on July 22, the KOSPI was up 327.75 points (4.86%) at 7,075.70. The index initially climbed more than 5% to surpass 7,100 but later reduced its gains.
Foreign investors were net buyers of 1.3777 trillion won, while individual and institutional investors sold 869.7 billion won and 514.7 billion won, respectively.
Most of the top market capitalization stocks were performing well. Samsung Electronics traded at 271,500 won, up 4.83%, while SK Hynix rose 6.59% to 1,957,000 won. Other gainers included Samsung Electro-Mechanics (7.71%), Hyundai Motor (6.52%), Samsung Electronics Preferred (6.19%), Samsung Life Insurance (4.59%), and SK Square (4.39%).
The KOSPI's sharp rise triggered a temporary trading halt known as a 'buy-side circuit breaker' at 9:06 a.m., as the KOSPI 200 futures price remained above 5% for one minute. This marked the 20th buy-side circuit breaker of the year.
The KOSDAQ index also continued its upward trend, showing an increase of 15.56 points (2.07%) to 768.90 at the same time.
In the KOSDAQ market, individual investors net bought 73.5 billion won, while foreign and institutional investors sold 43.4 billion won and 27.2 billion won, respectively.
Among the top KOSDAQ stocks, Rainbow Robotics surged 20.66% to 496,500 won, while EcoPro (4.92%), EcoPro BM (4.15%), and Rino Industrial (4.86%) also saw gains. Conversely, Peptron fell 6.24%, and Juseong Engineering dropped 1.36%.
The strong rebound in U.S. semiconductor stocks overnight is believed to have boosted investor sentiment in the domestic market. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rose 5.21%, with major semiconductor companies like Micron and SanDisk experiencing significant gains.
However, as the index's gains have moderated from the early session, market participants are closely watching whether the KOSPI can maintain its position above 7,100 and if foreign investors will continue their substantial net buying in the afternoon session.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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