SEOUL, September 21 (AJP) - South Korea's benchmark index climbed back above 7,000 on Monday morning, lifted largely by chipmakers, while the broader market failed to keep pace.
More stocks on the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell than rose. The index gained 100.94 points, or 1.5 percent, to 6,995.17.
The index touched 7,007.10 shortly after trading began, marking its first climb above 7,000 in eight sessions, before retreating. Decliners outnumbered advancers, with 543 stocks falling and 325 rising.
Samsung Electronics rose 3.9 percent to 271,250 won ($196.00), lifting its market value to 1,585 trillion won ($1.145 trillion). SK hynix gained 1.0 percent to 1,875,000 won ($1,354.90). It has led most of this year's semiconductor advances.
The gap between the two is wider than a single sector bid would explain. SK hynix had already repriced in New York on Friday, its American depositary receipts closing 2.5 percent higher, while Samsung has no comparable U.S. listing to absorb the move overnight.
Last Friday's U.S. session was a memory-and-storage rally rather than a broad one. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rose 2.8 percent to 11,921.69. Micron gained 3.9 percent and SanDisk 11.0 percent.
The S&P 500 added 0.2 percent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell.
Local brokerage commentary attributed Samsung's strength to expectations of higher memory contract prices. Kiwoom Securities said the underlying drivers of the market had not been damaged, naming the artificial-intelligence capital-expenditure cycle and corporate earnings momentum. It said leading sectors were recovering first.
Foreign investors bought a net 152.1 billion won ($109.9 million) of KOSPI shares and institutions bought 434.2 billion won ($313.7 million). Individuals sold 926.4 billion won ($669.4 million).
The sellers were concentrated outside chips. LG Energy Solution fell 2.7 percent to 354,250 won ($256.00). Hyundai Motor fell 1.1 percent to 361,000 won ($260.90).
The holding companies with chip exposure moved with the chipmakers. Samsung C&T rose 4.4 percent to 366,500 won ($264.80). SK Square, the holding company for SK hynix, rose 4.1 percent to 1,123,000 won ($811.50).
The junior KOSDAQ rose 1.2 percent to 836.97. It was up 9.85 points, with foreign and institutional investors both net sellers.
Seoul is trading largely alone in Northeast Asia this week. The Tokyo Stock Exchange is closed Monday through Wednesday for Respect for the Aged Day, a bridge holiday and the autumnal equinox, reopening Thursday. The Nikkei 225 finished Friday at 65,018.95, up 882.70 points or 1.4 percent. That closure lands on an unsettled yen.
The Bank of Japan raised its policy rate to 1.25 percent on Friday in a 7-2 vote. That is the highest level since 1995, and the currency weakened rather than firmed.
The yen reached near 158 per dollar before pulling back into the 156 range after Japanese authorities conducted a rate check — the step that usually precedes intervention.
The won strengthened 0.3 percent against the dollar to 1,383.90.
South Korea has just three trading sessions this week before the long Chuseok holiday weekend. The bid keeping the index above 6,900 hinges on a single assumption about memory prices, while the same pressures from oil prices and elevated long-term U.S. interest rates that weighed on the market early last week remain in place.
AJP Takeaways
- One stock did the lifting. Samsung Electronics rose 3.9 percent while SK hynix gained 1.0 percent, and decliners outnumbered advancers on the main board.
- The move tracked a memory-led session in New York rather than a broad risk rally, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index up 2.8 percent.
- Seoul is the only major Northeast Asian market trading early this week, with the Tokyo Stock Exchange shut through Wednesday and the yen unsettled after the Bank of Japan's rate rise.
Tags: Samsung Electronics, SK hynix, SK Square, Samsung C&T, LG Energy Solution, Hyundai Motor, KOSPI, KOSDAQ, Kiwoom Securities, Bank of Japan, Tokyo Stock Exchange, Nikkei 225, Philadelphia Semiconductor Index, Micron, SanDisk, Chuseok, won-dollar rate, semiconductors
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