SEOUL, September 07 (AJP) - South Korean KOSPI jumped nearly 3 percent Monday morning as foreign and institutional investors poured money into semiconductor heavyweights on renewed AI euphoria fueled by Nvidia's aggressive investment push.
The benchmark KOSPI stood at 6,880.29 as of 10:30 a.m., up 2.9 percent from Friday's close. The index rose as high as 6,923.64, or about 3.5 percent, earlier in the session before pulling back. Its intraday low was 6,867.90.
Foreign investors bought 825.9 billion won ($618 million), while institutions purchased 885.7 billion won. Their combined purchases reached about 1.71 trillion won.
Retail investors sold 2.11 trillion won worth of shares as Semiconductor stocks led the advance.
Samsung Electronics rose 3.82 percent to 265,250 won, while SK hynix surged 6.1 percent to 1,748,000 won. Hanmi Semiconductor gained 5.7 percent to 243,000 won and DB HiTek jumped 12.5 percent to 101,100 won.
The semiconductor and semiconductor equipment sector gained about 4.4 percent, while a group of major semiconductor shares rose about 7.2 percent.
The gains followed a strong session for U.S. chipmakers Friday. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index climbed 3.4 percent to 11,735.26 even as the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite all closed lower after stronger-than-expected U.S. employment data raised expectations that interest rates could remain high or rise further.
Sentiment toward AI-related hardware was also supported by OpenAI's launch Thursday of GPT-6 Astra, its most capable model to date. The rollout reinforced expectations that increasingly powerful AI models will require continued investment in computing infrastructure, including high-performance processors and memory chips.
Memory-related shares were among strongest performers in the U.S. session, helping drive gains in Samsung Electronics and SK hynix when trading resumed in Seoul.
Oracle has also emerged as another focus for AI investors ahead of its quarterly earnings this week. Oracle shares gained about 3.1 percent Friday as investors looked ahead to results that could provide fresh clues on demand for AI cloud infrastructure.
Other large-cap Korean stocks also advanced.
LG Electronics surged 8.7 percent to 219,000 won, helping the electronics sector gain about 8.5 percent, strongest among major industry groups.
Doosan Enerbility rose 5.2 percent to 83,300 won, Samsung Electro-Mechanics gained 1.9 percent to 1,427,000 won and Hyundai Motor advanced 1.8 percent to 390,500 won.
Samsung SDI slipped 0.5 percent to 545,500 won, while Hanwha Investment & Securities fell 2.5 percent to 4,975 won.
Energy equipment and service stocks rose about 4.1 percent. Doosan Fuel Cell jumped about 21 percent and BHI gained 11.7 percent.
Solid-oxide fuel cell-related shares also advanced about 6.1 percent, with Bumhan Fuel Cell climbing 12.8 percent.
The Korean won strengthened against the dollar, trading around 1,336.8 won per dollar, 0.9 percent higher.
The smaller-cap KOSDAQ also moved higher, although investor flows were far less pronounced.
The index stood at 825.60 as of 10:30 a.m., up 1.5 percent. It reached an intraday high of 828.85 and a low of 819.78.
Foreign investors bought 5.6 billion won whereas retail investors sold 4.6 billion won and institutions followed with 7 billion won.
Individual stocks showed larger moves.
Samik Pharmaceutical surged 29.9 percent to 8,780 won, hitting the daily price limit, while TPC Robotics jumped 15.8 percent to 4,590 won.
JW Shinyak rose 11.5 percent to 3,640 won, ALT gained 10.7 percent to 2,805 won and Skylabs climbed 7.5 percent to 25,250 won. Bit & Electronics added 3.3 percent to 2,805 won, while Ananti fell 5.3 percent to 5,410 won.
Elsewhere in Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 1.76 percent to 66,162.29 and China's Shanghai Composite gained 0.4 percent to 3,945.68. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.34 percent to 25,563.29.
Oil prices remained elevated as tensions involving the United States and Iran continued to raise concerns over energy supplies and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
West Texas Intermediate crude traded around $92 a barrel, up 0.6 percent, while Brent crude stood near $96.70, up 0.4 percent. Brent gained more than 8 percent last week.
Investors are paying close attention to Oracle's upcoming earnings report and U.S. inflation data expected to release later this week.
Oracle is due to report results Thursday, with investors watching cloud growth, AI infrastructure demand, capital spending and cash flow to gauge whether heavy investment in AI is translating into stronger business growth.
The U.S. August consumer price index is scheduled for Friday. The inflation report has taken on added importance after Friday's strong employment data increased expectations for a possible Federal Reserve rate hike this month.
AJP Takeaways
- KOSPI jumped 2.9 percent to 6,880.29 as of 10:30 a.m., led by strong gains in semiconductor heavyweights.
- Foreign and institutional investors bought a combined 1.71 trillion won, while retail investors sold 2.11 trillion won.
- Samsung Electronics rose 3.82 percent and SK hynix surged 6.1 percent, tracking Friday's 3.4 percent gain in the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index.
- AI-related sentiment remained strong after OpenAI's GPT-6 Astra launch, while investors are watching Oracle's earnings for further signals on AI infrastructure demand.
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