SEOUL — South Korea’s benchmark ripped higher into the Friday close even as the tape’s buyer mix told a more awkward story: foreigners and institutions piled back in, while retail dumped a record-sized net flow for the session.
The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed up 178.82 points, or 2.66 percent, at 6,894.23, according to Yonhap. Trade volume was 321.35 million shares worth ₩25.56 trillion (~US$18.5 billion). Under the hood, breadth stayed cautious — losers outnumbered winners 463 to 407.
Foreign investors snapped up a net ₩424.6 billion after a multi-session selling binge, Yonhap reported, while institutions purchased a net ₩1.5 trillion. Retail investors, by contrast, offloaded a net ₩3.59 trillion — the curiosity gap in an otherwise risk-on close.
“The KOSPI has brushed off macro concerns, while foreigners returned to the local market, powered by artificial intelligence (AI) momentum,” said Lee Kyoung-min of Daishin Securities, pointing to the recent drop in oil prices and easing inflation concerns after the U.S. Federal Reserve’s quarter-point hike — its first in over three years.
Chip heavyweights did the heavy lifting. Samsung Electronics rose 3.37 percent to ₩261,000, and SK hynix jumped 6.42 percent to ₩1,857,000, buoyed by AI-memory optimism after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s comments — relayed via Yonhap — that chip sales volume next year will double. Elsewhere, LG Energy Solution slipped 0.27 percent to ₩364,000, KB Financial fell 2.4 percent to ₩174,900, and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries declined 2.02 percent to ₩460,000.
The won was quoted at 1,383.3 per U.S. dollar as of 3:30 p.m., up 1.1 won from the previous session.
Bottom line: Seoul’s close is a foreign-and-institution bid into AI chips — not a retail chase. Watch whether next week’s flows keep foreigners net buyers after the selling streak, or whether the ₩3.59T retail dump marks profit-taking into strength.
— WWC NEWSDESK
