JAKARTA - South Korea's stock exchange closed higher, Thursday, after falling sharply at the start of trading. The strengthening was supported by semiconductor stocks after export data showed the chip sector was still strong, even though the uncertainty of the US-Iran war had not subsided.
Yonhap quoted Thursday, June 11, reported that the Korea Composite Stock Price Index or KOSPI benchmark index rose 33.13 points or 0.43 percent to 7,763.95. At the start of trading, the index had fallen nearly 3 percent.
KOSDAQ, the second-tier stock index, jumped 4.76 percent to 996.93. The exchange operator had activated a sidecar, which was a temporary suspension of the program trading, at around 13.58 for five minutes.
The KOSPI trading volume reached 472.6 million shares worth 45.2 trillion won or about 29.5 billion US dollars. The shares that rose more than the shares that fell, namely 575 to 318.
Retail investors became the driving force behind the increase by buying local stocks worth 2.07 trillion won. On the other hand, foreign investors continued to sell for the 24th consecutive day.
KOSPI initially followed Wall Street's pressure. However, the index reversed direction after government data showed South Korea's chip exports in the first 10 days of June jumped more than threefold to $11 billion.
Total South Korean exports in the same period also set a new record, reaching 28.6 billion US dollars or up 86 percent from the previous year.
US inflation data also helped the market. The US Consumer Price Index for May was lower than expected. According to Shinhan Securities analyst Kang Jin-hyuk, the data helped ease risk-averse attitudes in the market.
However, uncertainty has not completely subsided. Kang said the Middle East crisis is still ongoing after the US launched additional attacks on Iran.
In Seoul, Samsung Electronics opened down more than 3 percent, but eventually only weakened 1.16 percent to 299,000 won. Its rival, SK hynix, turned up 2.59 percent to 2.1 million won. SK Square, an AI investment company, jumped 3.8 percent.
Shares of automotive, battery, and electrical companies moved in various ways. Hyundai Motor fell 0.83 percent, Kia weakened 2.32 percent, while Hyundai Mobis rose 1.05 percent.
LG Energy Solution fell 0.26 percent, while Samsung SDI rose 0.4 percent. Samsung Electro-Mechanics was stagnant, while HD Hyundai Electric jumped 4.77 percent.
Shipbuilding stocks also went in different directions. HD Hyundai Heavy rose 0.78 percent, while Hanwha Ocean fell 5.17 percent.
According to Yonhap, the Korean won was at 1,528.9 won per US dollar at 15:30 local time. The currency weakened 4.7 won from the previous session.
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