The South Korean stock market closed at a record high on Tuesday, surpassing the 8800-point milestone. Technology stocks, led by chip giant Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., continued to rise, buoyed by optimistic sentiment regarding artificial intelligence (AI) prospects, which offset broader market profit-taking. The South Korean won experienced a significant decline against the US dollar.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 13.11 points, or 0.15%, to close at 8801.49.
The index opened sharply higher and climbed to an intraday record of 8933.62 before retreating, falling nearly 3% at one point under pressure from profit-taking. It later recovered some of those losses to end the session with a modest gain.
Trading volume for the day was approximately 626.03 million shares, with a total value of 67.5 trillion won (about $444 billion). The number of declining stocks significantly outnumbered gainers, with a ratio of 635 to 269.
Institutional and retail investors were net buyers of stocks, purchasing 242.27 billion won and 6.34 trillion won worth, respectively. In contrast, foreign investors were net sellers, offloading 6.59 trillion won worth of shares.
Following three months of conflict, investors remained cautious about progress in peace deal efforts between the US and Iran. Ongoing uncertainty surrounding the Strait of Hormuz continued to keep energy prices elevated.
An analyst from Daishin Securities noted that volatility in the South Korean market has intensified as investors take profits following the recent sharp rally. Persistent selling by foreign investors has put pressure on stock prices, particularly for those that have seen substantial gains in recent weeks.
Major stocks showed mixed performance.
The market bellwether, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., saw its shares rise 3.3% to a record high of 360,500 won. Its rival chipmaker, SK Hynix, saw a slight decline of 0.13% to 1.36 million won.
Shares of Hyundai Motor fell 2.8% to 729,000 won, while electronic component maker Samsung Electro-Mechanics plunged 9.58% to 813,000 won.
Stocks related to Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang gained on Tuesday ahead of his visit to South Korea later this week, where he is scheduled to meet with executives from several Korean companies to discuss potential AI collaborations.
Shares of internet portal operator Naver increased 3.31% to 280,500 won, and Doosan Robotics shares surged 20.45% to 166,700 won.
Samsung Life Insurance shares skyrocketed 17.07% to 480,000 won, boosted by signals from the Bank of Korea that it may raise interest rates amid mounting inflationary pressures.
Shares of Hanwha Aerospace dropped 5.98% to 1.07 million won. The decline followed a fatal explosion at the defense company's factory in Daejeon on Monday, which led to a production halt order.
As of 3:30 PM local time, the South Korean won was trading at 1517.3 per US dollar, a decline of 13 won from the previous session.
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