The KOSPI index surged over 4% in early trading on May 21, reclaiming the 7500 mark, driven by a strong performance in U.S. semiconductor stocks and positive results from NVIDIA. Optimism surrounding progress in negotiations between the U.S. and Iran contributed to stability in international oil prices and market interest rates, further enhancing investor sentiment in the semiconductor sector following the resolution of labor negotiations at Samsung Electronics.
According to the Korea Exchange, as of 9:06 a.m., the KOSPI index rose by 321.19 points (4.46%) to reach 7530.14. The index opened at 7486.37, up 277.42 points (3.85%), and climbed as high as 7551.36, an increase of 342.41 points (4.75%).
Seo Sang-young, a researcher at Mirae Asset Securities, stated, "The market has reaffirmed that expectations for growth in the artificial intelligence (AI) industry remain strong, as evidenced by NVIDIA's performance."
However, he noted, "Concerns about the sustainability of capital expenditure increases among hyperscalers, which the market has consistently questioned, remain unresolved. Particularly, recent big tech companies are expanding investments in AI infrastructure through bond issuance despite a slowdown in free cash flow, making the monetization of AI services and verification of investment returns increasingly important going forward."
In the securities market, foreign investors are net sellers, offloading 472.2 billion won, while individuals and institutions are net buyers, purchasing 459.1 billion won and 21.5 billion won, respectively.
Among the top market capitalization stocks, Samsung Electro-Mechanics surged by 11.22%. Samsung Electronics, the largest company by market cap, rose 5.43% to 291,000 won, while SK Hynix, the second-largest, increased by 4.01% to 1,815,000 won. SK Square gained 6.41%, and Samsung Life Insurance rose 10.26%. Hyundai Motor climbed 4.73%, and Doosan Enerbility increased by 7.40%. LG Energy Solution rose 2.47%, while HD Hyundai Heavy Industries saw a modest increase of 0.63%.
The KOSDAQ index also saw gains, rising 43.25 points (4.10%) to 1099.32. Individuals and foreigners were net buyers, purchasing 9.4 billion won and 6.2 billion won, respectively, while institutions were net sellers, offloading 12.8 billion won.
Rainbow Robotics increased by 7.21%. ABL Bio and Samchundang Pharm also saw gains of 5.46% and 5.33%, respectively. MakinaRax, which successfully debuted on the stock market with a fourfold increase from its initial public offering price, continued its upward trend, hitting the upper limit early in the trading session.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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