KOSPI Tops 5,500 for First Time Ever... Semiconductor Top Two Take Off

Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix Surge
KOSDAQ Also Ends Higher

On the 12th, the KOSPI surpassed the 5,500 level intraday for the first time in its history. Buoyed by favorable momentum in the U.S. semiconductor sector, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, which rank first and second in market capitalization on the domestic stock market, surged and pulled the index higher.

Yonhap News Agency

The KOSPI closed at 5,522.27, up 167.78 points (3.13%) from the previous session. After crossing the 5,500 mark for the first time in KOSPI history at around 10:50 a.m., it continued to push its record high upward.

Retail investors recorded a net selling of 4.5542 trillion won. Foreign investors posted a net buying of 3.0462 trillion won, and institutions a net buying of 1.5547 trillion won. By sector, electrical and electronics (4.63%), insurance (3.63%), and financials (3.53%) were strong, while paper and wood (-1.30%), electric and gas (-1.00%), and textiles and apparel (-0.61%) showed declines.

The main drivers of the rally were large-cap semiconductor stocks. Samsung Electronics finished trading at 178,600 won, up 6.44% from the previous session, and SK Hynix closed at 888,000 won, up 3.26%. This was because Micron Technology, a U.S. semiconductor company, jumped nearly 10% overnight in the New York market, reviving investor sentiment toward the semiconductor sector. Micron Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Mark Murphy said at a semiconductor conference hosted by U.S. research firm Wolfe Research on the 11th (local time), "I would like to take this opportunity to address some inaccurate reports in recent media coverage regarding HBM4, our sixth-generation high-bandwidth memory," adding, "We are already accelerating mass production of HBM4 and have begun shipments to customers."

The KOSDAQ index also finished trading at 1,125.99, up 11.12 points (1.00%) from the previous session. Retail investors recorded a net buying of 146.2 billion won, and institutions a net buying of 64.1 billion won. In contrast, foreign investors posted a net selling of 148.8 billion won.

Lee Jaewon, a researcher at Shinhan Investment & Securities, said, "The reason for Micron's sharp rise is the outlook for a shortage in memory supply," adding, "As a result, Samsung Electronics surged intraday, which led to the KOSPI breaking through 5,500." He continued, "The speed of improvement in artificial intelligence (AI) is astonishing, so how could semiconductor demand decrease?" and added, "More powerful AI requires more semiconductors."

Kim Seokhwan, a researcher at Mirae Asset Securities, said, "Morgan Stanley raised its target price for Micron (from 350 dollars to 450 dollars) in consideration of the shortage in DRAM supply and the sharp rise in prices," adding, "In response, related stocks in the domestic market are also showing strong performance."