KOSPI, driven by a sharp rise in semiconductor stocks, breaks through 7,800 points… Buying side car activated

Driven by a surge in semiconductor stocks, South Korea’s Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose more than 4% during trading on the 11th, maintaining a strong upward momentum around 7,800 points. Despite ongoing external tensions caused by the war between the United States and Iran, the Korean stock market continued to favor risk assets due to concentrated buying in the semiconductor sector.

At approximately 11:02 a.m., the KOSPI was at 7,849.17 points, up 351.17 points (4.68%) from the previous trading day. The index opened at 7,775.31 points, rising 277.31 points (3.70%), and briefly climbed to 7,876.60 points, with a gain of 5.05%. Due to the sharp rise at the market open, program buy orders were temporarily suspended in the securities market, triggering the so-called “buy-sidecar.” A sidecar is a mechanism that temporarily halts algorithmic trading during extreme volatility in futures and spot markets to cool overheated trading.

From the supply and demand perspective, individual investors and institutional investors net bought 12.14k trillion won and 10.07k trillion won, respectively, pushing the index higher. Conversely, foreign investors net sold 22.21k trillion won, maintaining a seller’s advantage for three consecutive trading days. However, in the KOSPI 200 futures market, foreign investors net bought 2.248 trillion won, showing a different trend from the spot market. Market analysts believe this reflects that, although geopolitical tensions remain, the market is more inclined toward negotiations and a ceasefire rather than war escalation. Some also point out that the strong spread of AI-related semiconductors in the U.S. has boosted domestic large semiconductor stocks, supporting investor sentiment.

The focus of the rise was on large-cap semiconductor stocks. SK Hynix’s stock price increased by 11.98%, closing at 1.89M won, briefly reaching 1.9M won at the start of trading, setting a new record high. Samsung Electronics also rose by 6.52%, closing at 286k won, with a brief intraday high of 288.5k won, hitting a new high. Samsung Electronics preferred shares also rose to 196.9k won, setting a new record. Additionally, SK Square, Hyundai Motor, Samsung C&T, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, Hanwha Aerospace, and Kia showed strong performances. By industry, the electrical and electronic sector rose 6.78%, leading the overall increase, with manufacturing, transportation equipment and parts, and distribution sectors also rising in tandem. Conversely, some stocks such as LG Energy Solution, Doosan Energy, Samsung Biologics, as well as the transportation, warehousing, real estate, and entertainment sectors, underperformed.

The KOSDAQ index showed a different trend from the KOSPI. At the same time, the KOSDAQ was at 1,204.23 points, down 3.49 points (0.29%) from the previous day. The index opened at 1,212.88 points with an increase but quickly turned downward. It is estimated that selling by foreign and institutional investors suppressed the index. Among the top market cap stocks, EcoPro BM, EcoPro, Alteogen, and Samchully Pharmaceuticals declined, while Rainbow Robotics, TissueGene, Lino Industrial, and Zhou Xing Engineering rose. The newly listed Cosmo Robotics surged 251.67%, indicating that new IPOs attracted short-term capital inflows. This trend may temporarily lead to alternating market conditions, with a strong KOSPI centered on semiconductors and corrections in growth stocks and secondary battery stocks.