The KOSPI rose 3.21% thanks to a rally in chipmakers' stocks
On August 13, South Korea’s KOSPI stock index rose sharply for the fourth consecutive trading session amid heavy buying of shares in the largest semiconductor manufacturers. The index gained 210.97 points, or 3.21%, and closed at 6,790.01 points, according to the Korea Herald.
At the start of the session, the KOSPI rose 2.96% and continued to climb thereafter. For four consecutive sessions, foreign and institutional investors have been buying shares of leading companies in the semiconductor sector. Over the previous three trading days, the index rose by 0.65%, 0.73%, and 3.68%, respectively.
Trading volume totaled 416 million shares worth 34.45 trillion won, equivalent to $24.22 billion. Foreign investors purchased shares for a net total of 2.09 trillion won, while institutional investors bought shares for 679.8 billion won. At the same time, retail investors sold shares for a net total of 2.71 trillion won. There were more stocks that fell in price than those that rose: 532 versus 332.
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Samsung Electronics shares rose 4.89% to 268,000 won per share, while SK hynix shares rose 5.91% to 1.59 million won. Shares of SK Square, the parent company of SK hynix, rose 9.08%, while Samsung Electro-Mechanics shares rose 12.58%. LG Energy Solution shares gained 1.95%, and Hyundai Motor shares rose 2.1%.
Shinhan Securities analyst Kang Jin-hyuk attributed the active buying by foreign investors to the fact that the July U.S. consumer price index met expectations, and that companies developing artificial intelligence infrastructure reported strong financial results. The previous day, the S&P 500 rose 0.26%, the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.54%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.04%.
The South Korean won strengthened by 3.7 won against the U.S. dollar: at 3:30 p.m., it was trading at 1,419.4 won per dollar.
