Kospi Jumps 3.76% on 1.446 Trillion Won in Foreign Buying; Kosdaq Gains 2.42%

Samsung Electronics rises 2.50%; SK Hynix gains 5.77%

South Korea’s Kospi rose more than 3% on Aug. 5, lifted by foreign buying. Semiconductor shares including Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix led the advance after chip stocks surged overnight on Wall Street. A buy-side sidecar was triggered early in the session as the benchmark index jumped.

The Kospi closed at 6,598.26, up 239.31 points, or 3.76%, from the previous session.

The index widened its gains early, triggering a temporary halt on program buy orders, known as a buy-side sidecar, at 9:24:56 a.m. The Kospi had last triggered a buy-side sidecar on July 31, three trading days earlier. The index later moved around the 6,600 level before ending in the 6,590 range.

U.S. stocks rose across the board overnight on expectations for progress in negotiations between the U.S. and Iran over reopening the Strait of Hormuz, and on a sharp rally in semiconductor shares. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 each climbed to record highs, gaining 1.71% and 1.79%, respectively. The Nasdaq rose 2.59%, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index jumped 6.55%.

On the benchmark Kospi market, foreign investors were net buyers of 1.446 trillion won. Individuals and institutions were net sellers of 1.185 trillion won and 280 billion won, respectively.

Most large-cap stocks advanced. Samsung Electronics rose 2.50% and SK Hynix gained 5.77%. SK Square climbed 5.57%, Samsung Electronics preferred shares added 4.26%, and Samsung Electro-Mechanics surged 14.43%.

The Kosdaq closed at 799.59, up 18.87 points, or 2.42%, from the previous session. The tech-heavy index extended its winning streak to four sessions and briefly traded above 800 during the day.

On the Kosdaq, individuals were net buyers of 395 billion won. Foreign investors and institutions were net sellers of 298 billion won and 111 billion won, respectively.

Among Kosdaq large-cap stocks, Alteogen rose 3.75%, Ecopro gained 0.37%, Rainbow Robotics advanced 3.64%, and Jusung Engineering climbed 5.07%. Ecopro BM fell 0.78%.

In Seoul foreign-exchange trading, the won finished the daytime session at 1,424.5 per dollar, up 8.0 won from the previous session.

Kim Yeon-ji, Hankyung.com reporter kongzi@hankyung.com