South Korea’s benchmark KOSPI rose 1.1 percent to 4,154.47, while the KOSDAQ edged up 0.2 percent to 936.76 as of 9:49 a.m. Institutional investors led the market with 302 billion won ($205 million) in net purchases. Foreign investors sold 64.8 billion won, and retail investors offloaded 235.6 billion won.
Most heavyweights advanced. Samsung Electronics gained 0.8 percent to 108,100 won, and SK hynix rose 2 percent to 576,000 won. Samsung Biologics added 1 percent, Hyundai Motor climbed 1.7 percent, and Kia gained 1.6 percent. Hanwha Aerospace jumped 4.8 percent to 947,000 won, while KB Financial Group rose 1 percent.
LG Energy Solution slipped 0.9 percent to 442,000 won.
One of the sharpest moves came from Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance, which plunged 22 percent to 491,500 won after surging 28 percent the previous day. Analysts attributed the volatility to short-term flows triggered by Samsung Group–linked ETFs increasing the insurer’s weighting during rebalancing.
Entertainment stocks posted modest gains: HYBE rose 1.7 percent, JYP Entertainment 0.3 percent, SM Entertainment 0.1 percent, and YG Entertainment 0.5 percent.
On the KOSDAQ, top-cap Alteogen fell 4.3 percent, while newly listed QuadMedicine surged 47 percent to 22,050 won, far above its IPO price of 15,000 won.
Overnight in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 1.3 percent to a record 48,704.01. The S&P 500 inched up 0.2 percent, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.3 percent.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.7 percent to 50,500.23. All five of Japan’s top-cap stocks were higher: Toyota surged 3 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ rose 2 percent, Sony and SoftBank Group both added 0.9 percent, and Hitachi climbed 2.6 percent. Nintendo rose 2.4 percent and Honda advanced 1.2 percent.
Expectations are strengthening for a Bank of Japan rate hike at its December 19 meeting. A Nikkei survey released Thursday showed all 29 economists polled anticipate a move to 0.75 percent, which would mark Japan’s first policy rate above 0.5 percent since 1995.
In China, the Shanghai Composite slipped 0.5 percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.7 percent.
Xinhua reported that the Central Economic Work Conference, chaired by President Xi Jinping earlier this week, called for more proactive fiscal policy, a moderately accommodative monetary stance, and a renewed emphasis on boosting domestic demand next year. The closed-door meeting sets China’s economic policy direction for the coming year.
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