South Korea’s Kospi enters bull market as chip stocks surge
What’s new: The index has rebounded about 22% to 23% from its July 30 low, led by Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix on renewed AI demand.
South Korea’s benchmark Kospi climbed as much as 4.8% on Thursday, pushing the index into a technical bull market barely two weeks after a steep July sell-off. The rebound from its July 30 low reached roughly 22% to 23%, powered by gains in memory-chip giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix as investors renewed bets on artificial intelligence spending.
The rally follows stronger results from AI-linked US companies and a softer US inflation report that eased pressure from rate-hike fears. Recent South Korean curbs on single-stock leveraged ETFs and lower margin debt also helped steady trading after July’s rout, which had triggered trading halts and erased retail wealth. Even so, the Kospi remains well below its late-June peak and analysts warned the advance could fade if US Treasury yields and the dollar rise again.