The KOSPI opened higher on May 29, buoyed by easing geopolitical risks in the Middle East and a rally in artificial intelligence (AI) stocks.
As of 9:07 a.m. KST, the KOSPI had risen 204.53 points (2.50%) to 8,389.82, after starting the day at 8,384.31, up 199.02 points (2.43%).
U.S. markets closed higher overnight, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite both reaching record highs, gaining 0.58% and 0.91%, respectively, on May 28. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also rose by 0.05%.
The market's upward momentum was fueled by optimism surrounding the easing of tensions in the Middle East. Reports indicated that the U.S. and Iran were finalizing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to end hostilities, pending final approval from President Donald Trump, which improved investor sentiment.
Additionally, AI stocks continued to perform well. Snowflake, a cloud data company, saw its shares soar by 36.48% after raising its annual revenue forecast and announcing a long-term contract with Amazon Web Services (AWS). This surge also lifted major semiconductor stocks, with Nvidia rising 0.78% and AMD climbing 4.55%. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index increased by 1%.
In terms of trading activity, both retail and institutional investors were net buyers, purchasing 627.9 billion won and 398.4 billion won, respectively, while foreign investors sold off 1.068 trillion won.
Among the top market cap stocks, most showed gains except for LG Energy Solution, which fell by 0.90%. Samsung Electronics rose by 5.51%, SK Hynix by 2.97%, SK Square by 1.21%, Hyundai Motor by 6.06%, Samsung Electro-Mechanics by 5.62%, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries by 1.14%, Samsung Life Insurance by 1.26%, and Samsung C&T by 3.50%.
Conversely, the KOSDAQ index turned negative, showing a decline of 12.07 points (1.09%) to 1,092.29. It had initially opened at 1,112.15, up 7.79 points (0.71%), but reversed course due to selling pressure from foreign and institutional investors.
In the KOSDAQ market, retail investors were net buyers of 124.6 billion won, while foreign and institutional investors sold 120.3 billion won and 4.1 billion won, respectively.
Among the top KOSDAQ stocks, EcoPro BM fell by 3.20%, EcoPro by 3.73%, Kolon TissueGene by 3.28%, Rino Technology by 0.81%, Peptron by 3.28%, and HLB by 1.09%. In contrast, Alteogen rose by 0.68%, Rainbow Robotics by 1.14%, Jusung Engineering by 5.53%, and Samchundang Pharm by 6.07%.
Han Ji-young, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, noted, "Today’s domestic market is expected to rebound due to renewed optimism over U.S.-Iran negotiations, a strong performance in KOSPI 200 night futures, and the impact of Dell's surge in after-hours trading, which is providing recovery momentum to sectors that had previously seen significant declines. The previous day's geopolitical uncertainties and the emergence of dissenting opinions regarding interest rate hikes by the Bank of Korea have also contributed to market volatility."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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