Seoul: South Korean stocks experienced a significant rise late Monday morning, with substantial contributions from major tech shares reflecting AI-related gains on Wall Street. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) increased by 70.36 points, or 1.75 percent, reaching 4,090.91 as of 11:20 a.m.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the surge in South Korean stocks follows the performance of major U.S. indexes on Friday, where AI stocks saw improvements despite concerns over valuations. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 0.38 percent, while the Nasdaq, known for its tech focus, increased by 1.31 percent. The S and P 500 also closed higher with a 0.88 percent gain.
In the U.S., AI chip leader Nvidia saw a 3.93 percent increase amid reports of the U.S. government's review of potential sales of its advanced H200 AI chips to China. Other tech companies such as AMD and Oracle experienced notable increases of 6.15 percent and 6.63 percent, respectively.
In the Seoul market, Samsung Electronics saw a 3.29 percent rise, with SK hynix, a competitor in the chipmaking sector, jumping 5.48 percent. SK Square, an AI investment firm, climbed 6.02 percent, while LG Energy Solution, a leading battery manufacturer, rose by 2.77 percent. In other sectors, Doosan Enerbility, a major power plant manufacturer, increased 1.55 percent, and Hanwha Aerospace in defense added 1.24 percent.
The performance among automakers and shipbuilders was mixed. Hyundai Motor, a leading carmaker, saw a slight increase of 0.17 percent, whereas Kia experienced a slight decline of 0.25 percent. Among shipbuilders, Hanwha Ocean expanded by 0.46 percent, while HD Hyundai Heavy and HD Korea Shipbuilding and Offshore Engineering fell by 1.15 percent and 1.19 percent, respectively.
The Korean won was trading at 1,477.7 against the U.S. dollar, showing a decrease of 1.4 won from the previous session's close.