South Korean Stocks Rise for Fourth Straight Session on Semiconductor Rally

South Korean stocks ended sharply higher for the fourth consecutive session on Thursday, driven by strong investor interest in major chipmakers. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 3.56 percent to close at 6,813.34, according to reports from center leaning sources, while a center right source reported a slightly lower close of 6,790.01, a rise of 3.21 percent. The index had previously seen gains of 0.65 percent, 0.73 percent, and 3.68 percent over the prior three sessions.

Foreigners and institutions were primary buyers of chip heavyweights. Samsung Electronics shares rose 4.89 percent to 268,000 won, and SK hynix gained 5.91 percent to 1.59 million won. Other gains included SK Square, which jumped 9.08 percent, and Samsung Electro-Mechanics, which rose 12.58 percent. LG Energy Solution and Hyundai Motor also finished higher, increasing by 1.95 percent and 2.1 percent, respectively.

Market analysts attributed the strong foreign buying to a series of positive earnings reports from AI infrastructure companies and U.S. consumer price index data for July that met expectations. This followed a positive overnight performance in U.S. AI technology stocks, where the Nasdaq composite advanced 0.54 percent and the S&P 500 gained 0.26 percent.

In other financial movements, the Korean won gained ground against the U.S. dollar, quoted at 1,419.4 won at 3:30 p.m. Bond prices also closed higher, with the yield on three year Treasurys decreasing by 1 basis point to 3.781 percent.