South Korean stock market surges 6%: chip stocks lead the rebound, foreign investors make net purchases of 2 trillion won in a single day

(1) On Wednesday, South Korea's KOSPI index surged more than 6% during trading, triggering the "sidecar" programmatic trading suspension mechanism—its 11th activation in the past 15 trading days. The secondary index Kosdaq also rose by nearly 5%. The previous week had seen sharp sell-offs in the market, resulting in a significant evaporation of market capitalization.(2) Overnight, the US stock semiconductor sector soared (the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index climbed more than 5%). Coupled with upcoming earnings reports from tech giants like Alphabet, Intel, and Texas Instruments, investors are refocusing on AI-related stocks. Analysts noted that, after the previous valuation corrections, earnings season provides space for fundamental assessments. BNP Paribas strategists believe market positioning is becoming looser, which is beneficial for evaluating growth prospects.(3) Heavyweight stock SK Hynix soared more than 9% at one point, Samsung Electronics rose 6.6%, Hyundai Motor and Kia climbed up to 7.14% and 3.11% respectively, and LG Energy Solution increased by 3.8%. Foreign investors recorded net purchases of about 2.01 trillion won (equivalent to $1.36 billion) on that day, with cumulative net purchases of 2.71 trillion won over the past week. The exchange rate of the won against the US dollar was reported at 1,483 won per dollar, having previously strengthened to 1,471.