Korean stocks surge over 4% as risk appetite returns

Korean stocks experienced a significant surge of more than 4 percent on Tuesday, as easing Middle East tensions and a strong overnight rally in U.S. semiconductor shares reignited risk appetite. The benchmark index closed at 5,239.13, marking a 4.39 percent increase from its opening level, which was 4.55 percent higher. This surge marked the first time foreign investors turned net buyers in eight trading sessions, purchasing a total of 353.2 billion won of shares.

Institutional investors also contributed to the buying spree, netting a purchase of 498 billion won, while retail investors sold shares worth 1.34 trillion won. Notably, semiconductor stocks played a pivotal role in driving the index higher, with SK hynix and Samsung Electronics leading the charge. Additionally, power equipment shares benefited from improving sentiment towards the artificial intelligence value chain, with several companies reporting substantial gains.

Brief written by urgent.news from The Korea Times's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.