Kospi Surges Past 7,300 After First Break Above 7,000; Samsung Electronics Jumps 14%

South Korea’s Kospi index surged past 7,300 on May 6 after topping 7,000 for the first time ever. The benchmark also briefly traded above 7,400 during the session. Foreign investors poured more than 3 trillion won into the market, driving bellwether Samsung Electronics up more than 14%. SK Hynix also jumped more than 10%.

The Kospi closed at 7,348.56, up 447.57 points, or 6.45%, from the previous session. It moved above 7,000 at the open and extended gains throughout the day, touching 7,426.60 at one point. Late profit-taking prevented the index from closing above 7,400.

Foreign investors drove the rally, buying 3.5302 trillion won worth of shares on the Kospi market. Institutions and retail investors sold 2.2124 trillion won and 919.7 billion won, respectively.

Foreign buying was concentrated in Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix and SK Square. Samsung Electronics surged 14.41%, SK Hynix jumped 10.64%, and SK Square gained 9.89%. Samsung Electronics rose above 260,000 won, while SK Hynix topped 1.6 million won.

The gains followed a report from market researcher IDC saying the boom in memory semiconductors would last longer and that the industry now differs from the past, when it moved in clearer cycles. Samsung Electronics rose even more on news that it had held talks with Intel to become a foundry partner for Apple.

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