Samsung Electronics and SK hynix Surge, Bringing KOSPI Close to 6,900 [Afternoon Market Update]

[Financial News] The KOSPI is edging closer to reclaiming the 6,900 level as the U.S. Treasury market has stabilized on expanded buybacks by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, while SK hynix's massive shareholder return plan has added further momentum.
As of 1:29 p.m. on the 20th, the KOSPI was trading at 6,882.31, up 411.14 points, or 6.35%, from the previous session. It opened at 6,680.34, up 209.17 points, or 3.23%, from the previous close.
A buy-side circuit breaker was also triggered on the KOSPI at 9:57 a.m. that day.
In the main board market, retail investors were net sellers of 242.98 billion won, while foreign investors and institutions were net buyers of 112.75 billion won and 55.13 billion won, respectively.
The recent easing in the sharp rise of long-term U.S. Treasury yields appears to have supported investor sentiment. The Treasury Department has decided to expand buybacks of long-term securities with 10 to 20 years and 20 to 30 years remaining to maturity to at least twice the current maximum of $2 billion per operation.
Kwon Hee-jin, a researcher at KB Securities, said, "The Treasury Department made clear that the policy backdrop is its intention to expand liquidity support in the long-term bond segment," adding, "It is not a fundamental solution, but it is aimed at easing the sharply worsened sense of anxiety in the long-term bond market for now."
Strength in major semiconductor stocks is also driving the index higher. In particular, SK hynix improved investor sentiment sharply after unveiling a massive shareholder return plan the previous day, including 4 trillion won in treasury share purchases and full cancellation of those shares.
SK hynix's large-scale shareholder return plan is also raising expectations for Samsung Electronics. As its three-year shareholder return policy comes to an end this year, the market is watching for the possibility of additional measures such as share buybacks, cancellations, or special dividends.
Among the top 14 stocks, all were higher except KB Financial Group (-3.37%) and Kia Corporation (-0.98%).
Samsung Electronics, the market's largest stock by capitalization, was trading at 270,500 won, up 9.29% from the previous session, while SK hynix, the second-largest, was trading at 1.71 million won, up 14.0%. They were followed by SK Square (11.65%), Samsung Life Insurance (8.33%), and Samsung C&T Corporation (7.64%).
At the same time, the KOSDAQ was trading at 841.71, up 17.25 points, or 2.09%, from the previous session.
The index opened at 843.99, up 19.53 points, or 2.37%, from the previous close.


[email protected] Kwon Hee-jin Reporter