Seoul shares sharply up late Monday morning on strong chip gains
Korean stocks traded sharply higher late Monday morning as investors scooped up semiconductor shares on optimism on further artificial intelligence (AI)-related demand. Opening 3.34 percent higher, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) was trading up 198.88 points, or 2.97 percent, to 6,886.09, as of 11:20 a.m. Wall Street closed lower Friday, but the PHLX semiconductor index…
Korean stocks experienced a sharp increase late Monday morning as semiconductor shares gained favor among investors, buoyed by optimism surrounding increased artificial intelligence (AI) demand. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) opened 3.34 percent higher, climbing 198.88 points or 2.97 percent to reach 6,886.09 by 11:20 a.m. Despite Wall Street's lower close on Friday, the PHLX semiconductor index saw a 3.38 percent rise following the unveiling of OpenAI's groundbreaking GPT-6 Astra, anticipated to stimulate memory chip demand.
Seoul's technology sector showcased positive performance, with Samsung Electronics surging 3.91 percent and its counterpart SK hynix soaring 5.4 percent. SK Square, parent to SK hynix, skyrocketed 5.67 percent, while Hanmi Semiconductor, a leading chip equipment firm, surged 5.43 percent. Energy company Doosan Enerbility climbed 5.93 percent, and entertainment giant CJ ENM gained 3.48 percent.
However, leading shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy Industries slipped 0.11 percent, and major pharmaceutical firm Celltrion fell 0.96 percent. As of 11:20 a.m., the Korean won was traded at 1,344.15 won against the U.S. dollar, up 5 percent.
Written by urgent.news from The Korea Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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