KOSPI opens up 2.92% at 5,711.80…reclaims ‘1 million won Hynix’ intraday

The KOSPI got off to a strong start, rising more than 2%. Expectations that a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz could be lifted, along with forecasts that demand strength for artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductors will persist at Nvidia’s annual technology conference “GTC 2026,” which opened overnight, helped drive the move.

As of 9:04 a.m. on the 17th, the KOSPI was trading at 5,698.17, up 148.32 points (2.67%) from the previous session. After opening well above the 5,700 level at 5,711.80, the index has eased slightly and is now seesawing around 5,700.

Individuals are leading the gains, net buying 166 billion won worth of shares on the main board. Foreigners and institutions, meanwhile, are net selling 93.4 billion won and 74.8 billion won, respectively.

Most top market-cap names are higher.

Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are up 4.19% and 2.67%, respectively. SK Hynix regained the 1 million won level in premarket trading and has since been fluctuating, while Samsung Electronics is also eyeing the 200,000 won level.

The gains come as a series of positive headlines emerged from GTC overnight. In particular, Jensen Huang, Nvidia’s CEO, unveiled the inference-optimized AI accelerator “Grok3 Language Processing Unit (LPU),” saying, “Samsung Electronics is manufacturing Grok3 LPU chips for us,” which has helped Samsung Electronics outperform. He also forecast that demand for AI semiconductor chips could reach $1 trillion around October.

SK Square, which holds a stake in SK Hynix, is also up 5.52%.

Hyundai Motor and Kia are rising 4.35% and 4.32%, respectively, also on the “GTC effect.” Reports said Nvidia has signed agreements on autonomous-driving technology cooperation with Hyundai Motor as well as Nissan, Isuzu, BYD and Geely.

LG Energy Solution (up 1.37%) and Samsung Biologics (up 1.72%) are also firm.

Hanwha Aerospace, however, is down 1.9%. War-related momentum has faded after reports that vessels from China and Iran, among others, have passed through the Strait of Hormuz.

The KOSDAQ is trading at 1,152.07, up 13.78 points (1.21%) from the previous session. In this market, individuals are net buying 98.9 billion won worth of shares, while foreigners and institutions are net selling 85.8 billion won and 12.0 billion won, respectively.

Most top market-cap names on the KOSDAQ are also higher.

EcoPro and EcoPro BM are up 3.08% and 1.65%, respectively.

Alteogen (up 0.85%), Samchundang Pharm (up 1.1%), ABL Bio (up 2.03%) and LigaChem Biosciences (up 2.49%) are also gaining.

The won-dollar exchange rate is trading at 1,491.8 won per dollar, down 0.1 won (0.01%) from the previous session.

On Wall Street, major indexes closed higher. On March 16 (local time) at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 387.94 points (0.83%) to 46,946.41, the Standard & Poor’s (S&P) 500 gained 67.19 points (1.01%) to 6,699.38, and the Nasdaq Composite added 268.82 points (1.22%) to 22,374.18.

Han Kyoung-woo, Hankyung.com reporter case@hankyung.com