Seoul: South Korean stocks soared by more than 5 percent Thursday, briefly topping the 9,000-point level again, driven by a tech rally ignited by U.S. chip giant Micron Technology's expectation-beating earnings report. The Korean won fell against the U.S. dollar.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 459.28 points, or 5.42 percent, to close at 8,930.30, following a 3.26 percent gain the previous day. The index briefly topped the 9,000-point threshold, rising as high as 9,044.04.
The index experienced a strong start, with a buy-side sidecar issued shortly after the market opened. This surge came as Micron, the world's No. 3 memory chipmaker, released its stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings, alleviating concerns about the sustainability of an artificial intelligence (AI) rally.
Micron has emerged as a significant beneficiary of the AI infrastructure spending boom, along with South Korean tech giants Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, due to rising demand for memory chips and high-bandwidth memory (HBM).