Accra:Seoul Seoul shares extended their gains late Wednesday morning, driven by a rebound in technology stocks. This occurred despite ongoing concerns about heavy investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 227.93 points, or 4.1 percent, reaching 5,780.67 by 1120 a.m., after opening 2.05 percent higher.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the main index's rise followed a nearly 4 percent decline in the previous session. Institutional and foreign investors contributed significantly to this rebound, purchasing a net 148.32 billion won (US$112 million) and 320.52 billion won worth of stocks, respectively, while retail investors sold a net 1 trillion won.
U.S. stocks closed mixed overnight, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 1.02 percent, while the Nasdaq composite, which is heavy with technology stocks, slipped slightly by 0.02 percent. Strong earnings reports from some technology firms renewed investor interest, with particular focus on upcoming earnings from Meta Platforms and other tech companies.
In the KOSPI market, the Korea Exchange (KRX) activated a buy-side sidecar at 1051 a.m. following a sharp increase in the KOSPI 200 Futures Index, temporarily suspending program trading orders for five minutes. Technology stocks were at the forefront of the gains in Seoul, with Samsung Electronics and SK hynix increasing by 7.09 percent and 7.2 percent, respectively. Korean Air and Hyundai Steel also saw gains of 1.9 percent and 2.14 percent. However, Hyundai Motor and POSCO Holdings experienced declines of 0.16 percent and 0.33 percent, respectively.
The Korean won was trading at 1,327.1 won against the U.S. dollar at 1120 a.m., showing a decrease of 1.1 won from the previous session's close.