Kospi Surges Over 8% to Reclaim 8,000 Mark; Foreigners Turn Net Buyers for First Time in 25 Trading Days

On Friday, the Kospi surged by over 8% to reclaim the 8,000-point mark, buoyed by growing expectations of an end to the war in the Middle East.

As of 9:31 a.m. on the same day, the Kospi stood at 8,395.17, up 631.22 points (8.13%).

The index opened at 8,263.85, up 499.90 points (6.44%) from the previous session, and soared to as high as 8,424.13 (8.50%) during intraday trading.

Due to the sharp rise in Kospi futures, a "sidecar" trading halt—which temporarily suspends program buying orders—was triggered in the main board market early in the session.

This marks the first time a sidecar has been activated on the Kospi market in two days since June 10, and the first buy-side sidecar in three days since June 9.

This means a Kospi sidecar was triggered on every trading day this week except for the previous day.

The VKOSPI (Kospi 200 Volatility Index), often referred to as Korea's "fear index," fell 2.34% from the previous day to 85.25, remaining above the 80 level for the fourth consecutive day.

In the Seoul foreign exchange market, the won-dollar exchange rate opened at 1,518.0 won, down 10.9 won from the previous session.

Foreign investors snapped their 24-session selling streak and are currently net buyers of 568.5 billion won on the main board.

Institutional investors are also net buyers, purchasing 393.4 billion won worth of shares.

On the other hand, retail investors are net sellers, offloading 921.2 billion won.

In the Kospi 200 futures market, retail and foreign investors are net buyers at 35.1 billion won and 236.3 billion won, respectively.

Institutional investors are net sellers of 274.8 billion won.

Overnight, the three major indexes on Wall Street surged in unison after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that a peace agreement to end the war with Iran was imminent.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 1.86% higher, while the S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index rose 1.75% and 2.54%, respectively.

The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index jumped 7.91%, marking its largest single-day gain in a year.

Major semiconductor and tech stocks rose sharply, including Intel (9.27%), Micron (11.66%), and SanDisk (14.50%), while Nvidia (2.22%) also gained.

President Trump, who had previously threatened airstrikes against Iran for three consecutive days, posted on his social media account in the afternoon that "discussions with Iran have reached and been approved by Iran's top leadership," adding, "I have canceled the airstrikes and bombings against Iran scheduled for this evening."

During a White House event on the same day, he told reporters that the peace negotiations with Iran had reached the final drafting stage and that a signing ceremony could take place in Europe this weekend.

In response, the domestic stock market surged, reclaiming the 8,000-point level for the first time in three days since June 9.

Han Ji-young, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, said, "There are positive external factors, such as the imminent signing of a memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and Iran, easing inflation anxieties for May, and the strength of U.S. semiconductor stocks," adding, "The domestic stock market is expected to see sector rotation."

South Korea's top two semiconductor giants are soaring.

Samsung Electronics skyrocketed 11.87% to trade at 334,500 won.

It reclaimed its "300,000-won" title, climbing to as high as 335,500 won during intraday trading.

SK Hynix rose 8.95% to 2,289,000 won.

It also surged to as high as 2,304,000 won during the session.

The top 50 stocks by market capitalization, including SK Square (9.36%), Samsung Electro-Mechanics (9.42%), Hyundai Motor (5.19%), LG Energy Solution (5.98%), and Samsung Life Insurance (8.77%), are all trading higher.

However, some shares, such as APR (-1.58%), KT (-4.33%), and S-Oil (-1.95%), are trading lower.

By sector, all industries on the Kospi market are currently showing gains, including electrical and electronics (9.74%), manufacturing (8.69%), and construction (7.04%).

On the Kospi market, 819 stocks have advanced, while only 83 have declined.

The remaining stocks are flat.

On the tech-heavy Kosdaq market, 1,427 stocks are rising, while 244 are falling.

At the same time, the Kosdaq index rose 38.25 points (3.84%) from the previous day to 1,035.18, reclaiming the 1,000-point mark.

The index opened at 1,027.05, up 30.12 points (3.02%), and has maintained a 2% to 3% gain during the session.

In the Kosdaq market, retail investors are the sole net buyers, purchasing 91.7 billion won worth of shares.

Foreign and institutional investors are net sellers at 76.7 billion won and 26.4 billion won, respectively, limiting further gains on the index.

Alteogen (2.02%), EcoPro BM (7.12%), EcoPro (8.27%), and Rainbow Robotics (6.61%) are trading higher, while Simmtech (-1.28%), Seojin System (-0.94%), and Hyundai Movex (-0.37%) are trading lower.
 
(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.