South Korea’s KOSPI index rallied sharply, breaking past key psychological thresholds—surging above 7,000 and pushing past 7,100 points. The powerful upward move was heavily driven by strong gains in heavyweight technology and semiconductor counters like Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.
Key Market Drivers & Performance
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Wall Street Tech Tailwinds: The local market tracked an overnight surge on Wall Street, where the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite hit record closing highs and major U.S. chipmakers (including AMD surging 10% past a $1 trillion market cap) posted stellar gains.
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Semiconductor Heavyweights Soar:
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Samsung Electronics jumped nearly 5% to close near 274,000 won, crossing major resistance levels and lifting its broader market capitalization.
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SK Hynix also advanced strongly, breaking past 1.9 million won amid sustained institutional accumulation.
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Robust Export Data: Market sentiment received an extra boost from domestic customs data showing South Korean semiconductor exports surging 259.4% year-over-year in the first 20 days of the month.
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Institutional Buying: Strong net purchases by domestic institutional investors underpinned the broader index rally, offsetting net profit-taking by retail traders.
