The KOSPI rose nearly 2% on the 14th as bargain hunters stepped in following five straight sessions of sharp losses. Investor sentiment recovered somewhat as the rise in U.S. Treasury yields eased, with Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) and SK hynix (000660.KS) both advancing to lead the index higher.
According to the Korea Exchange, the KOSPI opened at 6,062.08 on the 14th, up 26.73 points, or 0.44%, from the previous session. It then extended its gains, trading at 6,150.70 as of 9:10 a.m., up 115.35 points, or 1.91%. Shortly after the open, foreign investors and institutions were net buyers on the main board, purchasing 25.2 billion won and 22.4 billion won worth of shares, respectively. Retail investors sold a net 51.8 billion won.
Among the largest stocks by market capitalization, major chipmakers rebounded. Samsung Electronics traded at 239,500 won, up 3.23% from the previous session, while SK hynix rose 2.63% to 1,481,000 won. Samsung Electronics preferred shares (2.41%), SK Square (402340.KS, 2.22%) and Samsung Electro-Mechanics (009150.KS, 2.35%) also gained more than 2%. LG Energy Solution (373220.KS) rose 1.95%, while Samsung Biologics (207940.KS) fell 1.99% and Hyundai Motor (005380.KS) slipped 0.16%.
The domestic market is attempting a rebound as bargain buying follows the recent plunge. The KOSPI closed at 6,035.35 on the 13th, down 5.46%. It fell as low as 5,911.11 during the session, breaching the 6,000 line. Samsung Electronics and SK hynix tumbled 7.39% and 10.09%, respectively, a day earlier, while foreign investors sold a net 4.53 trillion won on the main board. Over the five sessions starting on the 6th of this month, the KOSPI's cumulative decline reached 13.83%.
The easing of the rise in Treasury yields on U.S. markets overnight also helped narrow losses. Long-term yields fell after New York Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams played down the need for additional rate hikes next year.
Uncertainty over the semiconductor industry outlook, however, remains. Plans by China's ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) to launch server DRAM products, combined with concerns over funding for artificial intelligence investment, have heightened caution about the medium- to long-term earnings of Korean chipmakers. On the New York market overnight, Micron fell 3.62% and SK hynix's American depositary receipts dropped 3.19%, while Nvidia rose 0.97%, pointing to divergence among individual stocks.
The KOSDAQ diverged from the KOSPI, opening at 835.90, down 1.13 points, or 0.14%, from the previous session. Retail investors bought a net 31.4 billion won early in the session, while foreign investors and institutions sold a net 26.4 billion won and 5.3 billion won, respectively. EcoPro (086520.KQ) rose 1.76%, while Jusung Engineering (036930.KQ) fell 4.96%, LEENO Industrial (058470.KQ) dropped 3.89% and HLB (028300.KQ) declined 3.07%.
Analysts said the short-term decline has been excessive, leaving room for a rebound, but a sustained recovery requires restored confidence in the semiconductor industry. The release of the U.S. consumer price index for September and third-quarter results from major chipmakers are also cited as variables that will determine the market's direction.
"Current valuations for chipmakers, at price-earnings ratios of three to four times, reflect expectations that the industry will enter a downcycle within two years and that earnings will fall by more than 50% to 60%," said Huh Jae-hwan, an analyst at Eugene Investment & Securities. "For a genuine recovery, the view on memory has to change."
