The benchmark KOSPI rose 1.61 percent to 5,145.81 as of around 11:08 a.m., recovering from an early dip below 5,000. It traded between 4,990.66 and 5,151.84, with advancing stocks outnumbering decliners 494 to 382.
Institutions bought a net 297.3 billion won worth of shares and retail investors added 68.7 billion won. Foreign investors continued to sell, unloading a net 469.3 billion won ($345 million).
SK hynix climbed 4.51 percent to 1,182,000 won, while Samsung Electronics gained 3.29 percent to 194,800 won, recouping some of last week’s losses after a recovery in U.S. semiconductor shares Friday.
The rebound coincided with the start of a roughly three-month waiver of securities firms’ 140 percent collateral maintenance requirement for margin loans. The measure gives brokerages greater flexibility to adjust collateral ratios or postpone forced liquidations, aiming to prevent selling by indebted investors from amplifying the downturn.
The relief addresses immediate selling pressure, while concerns about the profitability of artificial intelligence investment and the sustainability of spending on data centers continue to cloud the outlook.
The Democratic Party’s victory in the U.S. midterm elections has heightened investor concerns about tighter regulation of AI data centers and the financial burden of massive infrastructure investment.
U.S. chip stocks recovered some ground Friday after a steep selloff. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rebounded 4.21 percent following a 12.25 percent plunge in the previous session.
AMD surged 11.04 percent, Micron Technology gained 5.12 percent and Nvidia advanced 2.78 percent. The Nasdaq Composite rose 1.09 percent and the S&P 500 added 0.31 percent, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.46 percent.
In Seoul, the recovery remained uneven beyond the two dominant memory chipmakers.
Samsung Electro-Mechanics fell 3.1 percent to 843,000 won and SK Square edged down 0.14 percent to 723,000 won. Samsung SDI dropped 8.33 percent to 429,000 won as battery shares remained under pressure.
Doosan Enerbility declined 2.91 percent to 43,400 won, Samsung C&T slipped 0.55 percent to 272,000 won and Naver lost 0.47 percent to 189,300 won.
Hanjin KAL bucked the weakness, jumping 7.09 percent to 210,000 won amid continued attention to the airline holding company’s ownership structure.
Airline shares led sector gains with a 4.8 percent advance. Jeju Air rose 4.6 percent to 6,670 won, while Korean Air was unchanged at 29,400 won.
Telecommunications equipment stocks also attracted buying. RFHIC surged 13.7 percent to 42,250 won and Hanwha Vision gained 1.2 percent to 38,550 won.
The tech-heavy KOSDAQ moved in the opposite direction to the main board, falling 1.6 percent to 633.96 after trading between 632.70 and 645.67.
Retail investors bought a net 98 billion won worth of shares, but biotechnology and battery stocks weighed on the index.
Alteogen plunged 18.8 percent to 162,800 won. EcoPro fell 4.83 percent to 63,000 won, while Wonik Holdings slipped 1.41 percent to 27,900 won.
Other semiconductor-related stocks advanced. Jusung Engineering rose 6.17 percent to 141,000 won and Simtech gained 5.13 percent to 98,300 won.
Elice added 3.15 percent to 72,000 won, Revolup surged 18.4 percent to 13,000 won and Lunit climbed 6.28 percent to 16,420 won.
Xgate jumped 12.74 percent to 13,010 won and Intellivix advanced 11.27 percent to 12,140 won. LED equipment shares led thematic gains with a 4.6 percent rise, followed by deepfake-related stocks at 4.23 percent.
Elsewhere in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed 2.6 percent to 58,914.08. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.7 percent to 24,643.18 and China’s Shanghai Composite edged up 0.2 percent to 3,655.83.
The won strengthened 0.23 percent against the dollar to 1,360.4 won.
Oil extended last week’s declines as investors weighed prospects for progress in U.S.-Iran negotiations. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.4 percent to $90.45 a barrel and Brent declined 0.9 percent to $97.45.
U.S. President Donald Trump said renewed attacks on Iran were unlikely if talks on Tehran’s nuclear program and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz made progress.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, however, cautioned that Iran’s demands remained unacceptable, leaving the prospects for an agreement uncertain.
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