Kospi Jumps Over 3% on Anthropic IPO Boost, Snapping Four-Day Losing Streak

[Anchor]

Boosted by news of the U.S. AI firm Anthropic's upcoming initial public offering, the Kospi rebounded by over 3%, snapping a recent downward trend and closing higher for the first in four trading sessions. Driven by a semiconductor boom fueled by the artificial intelligence craze, the South Korean economy recorded a surprise third-quarter growth rate that far exceeded expectations.

Reporter Jung Hye-jin has the details.

[Reporter]

The Kospi, which surged by up to 4% in early trading, ultimately finished the session up 3%.

This marks the first closing rise in four trading sessions since October 21.

Today, October 27, the Kospi closed at 5,638.34, up 3.09% from the previous day.

The index started 3.46% higher than yesterday at 5,658.65, surging into the 5,700 range during the session and prompting a sidecar halt on program buying for five minutes around 10:13 AM.

Foreigners net purchased 592.7 billion won and institutions net bought 282.1 billion won to lead the rally, while individuals net sold 949.2 billion won.

Analysts suggest that investor sentiment was revived by news that Anthropic, the developer of the U.S. AI model Claude, has filed for an initial public offering.

Amid expectations of a semiconductor boost, Samsung Electronics finished up in the 4% range, while SK Hynix also rose by over 5%.

The tech-heavy Kosdaq also closed up 2.29% at 743.83.

Buoyed by this AI semiconductor tailwind, alongside increases in government consumption and facility investment, the South Korean economy achieved a surprise growth spurt in the third quarter of this year.

The Bank of Korea announced that the real gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate for the third quarter came in at 1.0%.

This figure is more than three times higher than the BOK's third-quarter growth forecast of 0.3% presented in August.

Exports, led by semiconductors and other sectors, grew by 2.3%, which is seen as the main driver behind the surprise growth.

Consequently, the BOK's original annual growth forecast of 3.3% is expected to be revised upward by a significant margin, propelled by the strong third-quarter performance.

(Video Editing: Lee Sang-min)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.