As of 9:03 a.m., the KOSPI was up 1.7 percent at 4,079.41, while the tech-heavy Kosdaq added 0.6 percent to 903.26.
Market heavyweights led the advance, with Samsung Electronics jumping 3.7 percent to 100,800 won ($69) to reclaim the 100,000-won level and SK hynix surging 6.1 percent to 594,000 won.
Other blue chips traded higher as well: LG Energy Solution gained 0.7 percent to 466,000 won, Hyundai Motor rose 0.4 percent to 273,500 won, and Kia was up 0.4 percent at 117,500 won.
The upbeat start followed Wall Street’s mixed close Friday, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 slipped 0.7 percent and 0.05 percent, respectively, while the Nasdaq Composite edged up 0.13 percent.
Renewed buying in major tech and AI names—on optimism that fears of an “AI bubble” were easing and memory prices were firming—helped bolster Korean chip stocks.
Among biotech stocks, ABL Bio rose 1 percent to 176,000 won after rallying for three consecutive sessions last week. In entertainment, HYBE slipped 0.8 percent to 295,000 won, trimming last week’s 4.5 percent gain after girl group NewJeans, under its ADOR label, announced plans to return as a full five-member lineup.
Meritz Securities last week raised its HYBE target price to 380,000 won from 370,000 won. SM Entertainment fell 0.6 percent to 100,900 won, while YG Entertainment also declined 0.6 percent to 61,700 won.
JYP Entertainment was the sole gainer among the “Big Four,” rising 1.2 percent to 70,300 won after being named by Time magazine as the “World’s Best Companies in Sustainable Growth” for 2026, ranking No. 1 globally and in Korea for the second consecutive year.
JYP manages TWICE, Stray Kids, ITZY, and NMIXX.
Consumer-stock standout Nongshim jumped 11.1 percent to 469,500 won after brokerages raised their outlooks, citing expected synergy from its upcoming “K-Pop Demon Hunters” tie-in. Kiwoom Securities reiterated a buy rating with a 540,000-won target, while KB Securities lifted its target to 570,000 won from 530,000 won, pointing to continued earnings momentum after a robust third quarter.
Nongshim’s operating profit jumped 44.6 percent on year to 54.4 billion won ($37 million) in the third quarter, beating market consensus by about 20 percent.
Meanwhile, affiliates of Ssangbangwool Group, Kwanglim and FutureCore, plunged nearly 80 percent as trading resumed under liquidation procedures. As of 10:13 a.m., Kwanglim was down 75.5 percent at 1,480 won and FutureCore was down 87.8 percent at 78 won. The Korea Exchange restarted delisting procedures after the court rejected injunctions filed by the companies. Kwanglim and FutureCore will trade for settlement through Nov. 25, and Ssangbangwool from Nov. 19 to 27, with final delistings expected later this month. All three firms have filed appeals.
Across the region, sentiment was weaker. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 fell 0.4 percent to 50,179.15 amid rising tensions between China and Japan after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Tokyo would intervene in a Taiwan contingency, prompting a strong protest from China’s Consul-General in Osaka.
On Friday, Beijing urged its citizens to avoid traveling to Japan via a notice posted on the Chinese embassy’s official WeChat account. Analysts said the advisory could pressure Japan’s tourism sector, which relies heavily on Chinese visitors—7.49 million out of 31.65 million foreign arrivals between January and September.
Kyodo News described the move as a “de facto economic measure targeting Japan’s tourism industry.”
In China, the Shanghai Composite Index slipped 0.5 percent to 3,972.44 in early trade, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.4 percent to 26,476.55.
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