SEOUL, June 30 (AJP) - South Korean stocks ended mixed on Tuesday as semiconductor heavyweights led a sharp recovery in the benchmark KOSPI after morning losses, helped by stronger U.S. chip stocks overnight and the South Korean government's fresh support for artificial intelligence semiconductors, while the junior KOSDAQ slipped as investors took profits in battery and biotechnology shares.
The benchmark KOSPI closed up 0.97 percent at 8,476.48. The index had fallen as low as the 8,220 level in morning trading before staging a powerful rebound in the afternoon, briefly climbing above 8,660 as buying in large-cap chipmakers gathered pace.
Institutional investors led the recovery, purchasing a net 2.89 trillion won ($1.86 billion) worth of KOSPI shares. Foreign investors sold a net 2.59 trillion won, while retail investors also remained net sellers.
Both Samsung Electronics and SK hynix staged sharp intraday reversals. Samsung Electronics opened slightly higher before slipping 0.62 percent in early trading, then rebounded to an intraday high of 343,000 won, up as much as 6.19 percent, before closing 3.41 percent higher at 334,000 won. SK hynix also erased early losses, rebounding from a 3.31 percent decline to an intraday high of 2,742,000 won before finishing 0.84 percent higher at 2,650,000 won.
The rebound in semiconductor heavyweights spilled over to related stocks. SK Square, a major shareholder of SK hynix, climbed 3.48 percent to 1,697,000 won, while Samsung Electro-Mechanics jumped 7.16 percent to 2,184,000 won after announcing a 450 billion won multilayer ceramic capacitor supply agreement with an undisclosed global technology company.
Power and industrial names also advanced. LS Electric gained 6.25 percent to 238,000 won, Hyosung Heavy Industries rose 5.01 percent to 3,438,000 won, HD Hyundai Electric added 3.74 percent to 972,000 won, KB Financial climbed 3.45 percent to 159,000 won and LG Electronics advanced 3.20 percent to 203,000 won.
Not all sectors participated in the recovery. Battery and biotechnology shares gave back part of the previous session's sharp gains as investors locked in profits LG Energy Solution tumbled 9.61 percent to 362,000 won after soaring more than 20 percent a day earlier, while Samsung SDI lost 4.88 percent to 487,000 won. Samsung Biologics fell 3.94 percent to 1,391,000 won, Celltrion dropped 3.29 percent to 173,300 won, Hanwha Aerospace declined 2.45 percent to 995,000 won, Kia slipped 1.85 percent to 138,000 won, while Samsung Life Insurance and Samsung C&T edged down 1.84 percent and 0.53 percent to 401,000 won and 468,500 won, respectively.
The domestic rebound was also helped by stronger overseas cues. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.59 percent, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite gained 1.18 percent and 2.07 percent, respectively. Nvidia climbed 1.27 percent, Micron Technology rose 1.14 percent and Broadcom advanced 2.04 percent, pushing the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index up 3.83 percent.
Investor sentiment was also lifted by the government's "three mega projects" initiative, which includes major investment in AI semiconductors. According to Daishin Securities, bargain hunting fueled the rebound, while Micron's strong earnings reaffirmed expectations for solid medium- to long-term demand despite recent concerns over higher memory chip prices.
The junior KOSDAQ slipped 0.48 percent to 916.18 after giving up modest early gains.
Individuals bought a net 307 billion won worth of shares, while institutions and foreign investors were net sellers.
Despite the broader decline, semiconductor equipment makers outperformed on expectations of increased investment in the domestic chip industry. Semiconductor equipment maker Jusung Engineering jumped 13.82 percent to 201,000 won, while fellow chip equipment suppliers Wonik IPS and EO Technics rose 5.72 percent to 168,100 won and 4.27 percent to 476,000 won, respectively. Biopharmaceutical company HLB gained 1.96 percent to 52,000 won, while robotics maker Rainbow Robotics edged up 0.58 percent to 519,000 won.
Battery and biotechnology stocks remained under pressure. EcoPro tumbled 9.66 percent to 106,600 won, EcoPro BM fell 7.77 percent to 142,500 won, Kolon TissueGene lost 3.90 percent to 93,600 won, Alteogen declined 3.22 percent to 361,000 won and Reno Industrial slipped 1.52 percent to 84,000 won.
The Korean won weakened slightly against the U.S. dollar, trading at 1,548.6 won per dollar, compared with 1,545.2 won in the previous session.
Regional markets were mixed. Japan's Nikkei 225 gained 0.86 percent to 70,062.32, supported by gains in technology shares. China's Shanghai Composite rose 0.50 percent to 4,094.40 after official manufacturing data returned to expansion in June. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.80 percent to 22,843.21 as investors took profits at the end of the quarter.
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