SEOUL, April 27 (AJP) - Seoul's main KOSPI touched a new ceiling at 6,600 on institutional buying early Monday, brushing aside weekend incidents — the stalemated U.S.-Iran peace talks and a shooting incident during the White House Correspondents’ Dinner attended by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Both the KOSPI and junior KOSDAQ gained nearly 2 percent, pushing their combined market capitalization above 6,000 trillion won, up nearly 40 percent from the beginning of the year.
As of 11:00 a.m., the KOSPI was up 1.96 percent at 6,602.44, while the KOSDAQ rose 1.76 percent to 1,222.90.
Semiconductor shares led the advance, with SK hynix hitting another 52-week high Monday, extending gains on expectations of a semiconductor supercycle. Shares rose 4.83 percent to 1,281,000 won.
Support also came from expectations that the current memory upcycle may be stronger than in previous cycles, with investors watching this week’s results from global NAND suppliers for guidance that could lift consensus forecasts for SK hynix’s NAND business.
Gains spread across the broader semiconductor sector, with Samsung Electronics rising 1.59 percent to 223,000 won.
Autos were mostly firmer, with Hyundai Motor Company surging 3.12 percent to 529,000 won and affiliate Kia edging up 0.13 percent to 153,600 won.
Industrial and defense shares were mixed, with HD Hyundai Heavy Industries up 1.04 percent at 678,000 won and Doosan Enerbility adding 0.87 percent to 128,200 won, while Hanwha Aerospace slipped 0.68 percent to 1,453,000 won.
Battery names came under pressure, with LG Energy Solution down 3.17 percent to 465,750 won and Samsung SDI dropping 1.72 percent to 630,000 won.
The KOSDAQ was lifted by strength in biotech and robotics shares, with nearly all of the top components trading higher.
Rainbow Robotics jumped 11.44 percent to 682,000 won, while ABL Bio climbed 8.97 percent to 171,300 won and Samchundang Pharm rose 8.38 percent to 446,000 won. Alteogen added 4.20 percent to 384,500 won, while HLB gained 4.15 percent to 62,700 won.
Leeno Industrial — a semiconductor testing equipment maker — was the only decliner among major components, falling 14.63 percent to 106,200 won.
The dollar sharply eased on renewed foreign buying, trading at 1,474.30 won compared with the previous close of 1,484.50 won.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.23 percent to a fresh intraday high of 60,351.95 in morning trade, led by semiconductor-related shares. Advantest climbed 1.24 percent and SoftBank Group added 0.89 percent, as investors positioned ahead of the Bank of Japan’s policy decision due Tuesday.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slipped 0.08 percent to 25,957.25, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index eased 0.02 percent to 4,079.00.
Japan’s markets are set to close Wednesday, while South Korea, China, Hong Kong and Taiwan will be shut Friday for Labor Day.
Meanwhile, market focus will turn to how earnings from megacap technology firms shape volatility this week, with Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon and Meta due to report first-quarter results on Wednesday, followed by Apple on Thursday.
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