[Anchor]

After a sharp decline early this week, the KOSPI has risen for two consecutive days, briefly reclaiming the 9,000-point level. The market received a boost from better-than-expected earnings results from U.S. semiconductor firm Micron. However, the number of declining stocks still outnumbered gainers, and the KOSDAQ fell more than 2%, dropping below the 900-point threshold.

Reporter Min Gyeongho has the story.

[Reporter]

The domestic stock market opened sharply higher today (June 25) following the surprise earnings announcement from U.S. semiconductor company Micron, which was released early this morning.

News that the company's revenue and profit for the third fiscal quarter both exceeded market expectations reignited investor sentiment in the semiconductor sector.

Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, which have been vying for the top spot in KOSPI market capitalization, surged by over 5% and 13%, respectively, recovering all of their recent losses.

SK Hynix, which announced after the market closed yesterday that it plans to list its American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) on the U.S. Nasdaq next month, even hit a new intraday high.

Driven by the rally in semiconductor stocks, the KOSPI remained strong throughout the day—triggering a buy-side circuit breaker at one point—and briefly recovered the 9,000-point level before closing at 8,930, up 5.4%.

[Lee Jin-woo / Head of Research Center, Meritz Securities: As signs of increasing long-term contracts are now being meaningfully confirmed at Micron, expectations are re-emerging that the industry can move away from the traditional cycle (which includes future downturns)...]

However, other stocks suffered as capital became concentrated solely in semiconductors, causing supply and demand imbalances.

In the KOSPI, the number of declining stocks was double that of advancing stocks.

The KOSDAQ, where declining stocks outnumbered gainers by three to one, fell 2.36% today, breaking back below the 900-point line.

[Shin Seung-jin / Investment Information Team Leader, Samsung Securities: In the case of the KOSDAQ, disappointment-driven selling is triggering further selling, which is actually causing capital to concentrate even more into earnings-backed stocks like semiconductors.]

The deepening concentration in semiconductors has pushed the KOSPI 200 Volatility Index to an all-time high for six consecutive trading days, and the balance of credit loans borrowed from securities firms has reached a record high of 38.6 trillion won, both of which are sources of concern.

Furthermore, the high exchange rate, which has remained in the 1,540 won range at closing for two consecutive days, and the fact that foreign investors have been net sellers for five straight trading days, could limit further gains.

(Reported by Choi Ho-jun and Park Hyun-cheol | Video edited by Park Chun-bae)