SEOUL — South Korean stocks surged on Monday, rebounding strongly from the previous week’s declines as worries over a potential U.S. recession eased, sparking a broad rally across major sectors. Despite gains in the stock market, the local currency weakened against the U.S. dollar.
According to Yonhap News Agency, an analyst at Shinhan Securities, the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) climbed 29.87 points, or 1.15 percent, to finish at 2,618.30. This marks the second consecutive day of gains. The improvement in market sentiment followed encouraging signs from Wall Street, where indices closed higher on Friday due to optimistic unemployment data suggesting resilience in the U.S. economy. Investors are now keenly awaiting further U.S. economic reports, including consumer price, producer price, and retail sales data expected later in the week.
The trading volume on the KOSPI was relatively modest, with 286.2 million shares changing hands, valued at 7.4 trillion won (approximately US$5.4 billion). Market dynamics showed a strong preference for buying among foreigners and institutional investors, who purchased shares worth 76 billion won and 149 billion won, respectively. Conversely, retail investors were net sellers, offloading 206.4 billion won worth of stocks.
Sector-wise, AI chip stocks like SK hynix, which surged 3.21 percent to 177,000 won, saw significant gains as fears of an AI bubble subsided, contributing to the overall market optimism. Major companies such as Samsung Electronics also enjoyed gains, with its shares up 1.07 percent to 75,500 won. LG Energy Solution and Samsung SDI, leaders in the battery market, jumped 2.02 percent and 3.06 percent, respectively, while major biopharmaceutical firm Celltrion increased more than 2 percent to 200,000 won.
However, not all sectors fared well; Naver, the internet portal operator, fell 2.08 percent to 160,300 won, and HD Hyundai Heavy, a major player in defense and shipbuilding, declined by 1.65 percent to 208,500 won. The local currency, meanwhile, was weaker, with the won trading at 1,372.0 against the dollar by the afternoon, a decrease of 7.4 won from the previous session's close.
Bond prices closed mixed, with the yield on three-year Treasurys slightly rising by 0.5 basis point to 2.946 percent, while the yield on five-year government bonds decreased by 0.4 basis point to 2.954 percent.