KOSPI Surpasses 3,500... Up Over 3% on Foreign and Institutional Buying [fn Morning Market Brief]

[Financial News] The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) surged past the 3,500 mark during trading on the 2nd, rapidly expanding its gains.
As of 11:10 a.m., the KOSPI was trading at 3,563.63, up 3.12% from the previous session. The index opened at 3,525.48, up 2.02%, and for the first time in history surpassed the 3,500 level, continuing its upward momentum to the 3,560 range.
In the main stock market, foreign investors and institutional investors have purchased 1.8068 trillion won and 675.2 billion won worth of shares, respectively. In contrast, individual investors have sold 2.4603 trillion won.
Expectations that the Federal government of the United States shutdown will be short-lived, along with growing hopes for a Federal Reserve System (Fed) rate cut, are seen as factors driving the index higher. Additionally, the strong performance of U.S. semiconductor stocks overnight has provided a positive boost to the domestic semiconductor sector.
Lee Sung-hoon, a researcher at KIWOOM Securities, stated, "The upward momentum in the domestic stock market, led by semiconductors, is expected to continue. Among the major export items announced for September, semiconductors reached a record high of $16.61 billion, up 22.0% year-on-year, supported by solid demand for High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) and rising memory chip prices."
The two largest stocks by market capitalization, Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, each reached significant milestones today—Samsung Electronics surpassed 90,000 won per share, while SK hynix touched 400,000 won. Samsung Electronics is currently trading at 90,200 won, up 4.88% from the previous session. SK hynix is trading at 403,000 won, up 11.94%. Other gainers include LG Energy Solution (up 0.79%), Hanwha Aerospace (up 0.91%), and KB Financial Group (up 2.06%). In contrast, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. is down 1.52%.
By sector, electronics (up 5.67%), securities (up 4.37%), and manufacturing (up 3.33%) are showing strength. On the other hand, food and beverages (down 1.03%), construction (down 0.67%), and utilities (down 0.14%) are declining.
At this time, the Korean Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (KOSDAQ) index is trading at 852.14, up 0.80% from the previous session.
In the KOSDAQ market, foreign investors and individual investors have bought 19.9 billion won and 20.5 billion won worth of shares, respectively, while institutional investors have sold 18.8 billion won.

hippo@fnnews.com Kim Chan-mi Reporter