The South Korean stock market saw a significant rise on Tuesday, driven primarily by positive developments in the artificial intelligence sector, which boosted both technology and automotive heavyweight stocks.
Market Performance
The KOSPI index climbed 1.63%, closing at 5640.48 points, marking a two-week closing high. At one point, the intraday rise exceeded 3%, indicating a notable increase in market risk appetite.
AI Theme Drive
Market attention was focused on the Nvidia-related value chain. The company's CEO, Jensen Huang, stated that Samsung Electronics is producing its next-generation AI chips, reinforcing expectations of Samsung's standing in the high-end logic and advanced packaging fields.
Meanwhile, Hyundai Motor and Kia announced an expansion of their collaboration with Nvidia, with a focus on developing autonomous driving technology, promoting deeper integration of automotive industry and AI computing power.
Sectors and Stocks
Samsung Electronics rose 2.76%, LG Energy Solution surged nearly 4%, and POSCO Holdings increased by 2.70%. However, SK Hynix saw a slight decline against the trend, indicating a structural adjustment within the semiconductor sector.
Capital and Macroeconomic Variables
Foreign investors sold a net 177.5 billion KRW, exerting some pressure on the market. In currency terms, the Korean won slightly weakened against the US dollar to 1493.6.
The bond market showed a split performance, with the three-year government bond yield rising to 3.321%, while the 10-year yield fell to 3.688%, reflecting differing views on the mid-to-long-term economic and interest rate outlook.
