KOSPI Jumps More Than 3% as Foreign and Institutional Buying Lifts Seoul Stocks

A display board at Hana Bank’s dealing room in central Seoul shows the KOSPI on May 4. The KOSPI opened up 184.06 points, or 2.79%, at 6,782.93 from the previous session, while the KOSDAQ opened up 19.93 points, or 1.67%, at 1,212.28. (Yonhap)

South Korean stocks surged in intraday trading Monday, led by semiconductor shares, with the benchmark KOSPI rising more than 3% and setting a fresh record high.

As of 11:02 a.m., the KOSPI was up 242.98 points, or 3.68%, at 6,841.85, according to the Korea Exchange. The index opened up 184.06 points, or 2.79%, at 6,782.93 and extended gains on foreign buying.

In the main market, foreigners and institutions were net buyers of 2.3264 trillion won and 1.2675 trillion won, respectively, while individuals were net sellers of 3.4957 trillion won.

Among top market-cap stocks, Samsung Electronics rose 3.63%, SK hynix gained 8.94% and SK Square jumped 12.72%. Hyundai Motor added 1.51%, LG Energy Solution rose 2.28%, Hanwha Aerospace gained 3.11% and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries advanced 1.75%. Doosan Enerbility slipped 0.31% and Samsung Biologics fell 0.34%.

The tech-heavy KOSDAQ was up 24.57 points, or 2.06%, at 1,216.92 at the same time. It opened up 19.93 points, or 1.67%, at 1,212.28.

In the KOSDAQ market, foreigners and institutions were net buyers of 602.7 billion won and 10.3 billion won, respectively, while individuals were net sellers of 605.9 billion won.

Among leading KOSDAQ shares, EcoPro rose 2.22%, EcoPro BM gained 4.37%, Alteogen added 3.80%, Rainbow Robotics rose 3.46%, Kolon TissueGene gained 2.45% and HLB advanced 2.14%. Samchundang Pharm fell 2.41%, Lino Industrial slipped 1.34% and ABL Bio lost 0.59%.

* This article has been translated by AI.

Yang Boyeon