Kospi Rebounds After Five-Day Slide; Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix Gain More Than 2%

South Korea’s Kospi reclaimed the 6,100 level early on October 14 as bargain buying emerged after five straight losing sessions.

As of 9:06 a.m., the benchmark index was up 75.06 points, or 1.24%, at 6,110.41. The move followed a more than 5% plunge a day earlier that triggered a sell-side sidecar in the domestic stock market for the first time in about two months.

Foreign and institutional investors underpinned the advance. On the main bourse, foreigners were net buyers of 17.7 billion won and institutions purchased a net 3.4 billion won. Retail investors, by contrast, were net sellers of 32.6 billion won.

Large-cap chip stocks that had led the previous session’s rout also turned higher. Samsung Electronics rose 2.59% to 238,000 won, while SK Hynix gained 2.29% to 1,476,000 won. LG Energy Solution climbed 1.59%, SK Square added 1.05%, and Samsung Electro-Mechanics advanced 0.88%. Samsung Biologics fell 2.40%, Hyundai Motor lost 0.95%, and KB Financial Group slipped 0.74%.

Brokerages attributed the move in part to easing concerns over U.S. monetary policy, alongside buying after the recent selloff. Han Ji-young, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities, said U.S. stocks had pared intraday losses on dovish comments from Federal Reserve officials, a development she said would likely have a positive effect on South Korean equities. She also cited caution ahead of the September U.S. consumer price index report and uncertainty surrounding China’s semiconductor industry as lingering variables.

The Kosdaq, unlike the Kospi, traded lower. At the same time, the index fell 4.48 points, or 0.54%, to 832.55. Foreign and institutional investors were net sellers of 58.1 billion won and 18.5 billion won, respectively, while retail investors were net buyers of 77.2 billion won.

Most heavyweight Kosdaq stocks were also weak. Jusung Engineering fell 4.58%, HLB dropped 2.95%, LEENO Industrial lost 2.76%, Wonik IPS declined 2.45%, and EO Technics slid 2.13%. Rainbow Robotics fell 1.17%, Ecopro BM lost 0.97%, and Alteogen slipped 0.22%, while Ecopro rose 0.82%.