KOSPI Closes at 5,640; Samsung Electronics Up 2%

Fueled by net buying from institutional investors, the KOSPI closed at the 5,640 mark, up 1.63% from the previous session, extending its winning streak to a second consecutive day. While institutions recorded substantial net purchases, individual investors took profits, and foreign investors continued their sell-off for the fifth straight session. The KOSPI index could not sustain its upward trend, ending the day at the 1,130 level, while the won-dollar exchange rate closed at 1,493.6, down 3.9 won from the prior trading day.

Samsung Electronics finished trading up over 2% at 190,000 won on news of its collaboration with Nvidia. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's expression of gratitude to Samsung Electronics regarding the manufacturing of chips like the Grok 3 LPU for inference drove the stock's rise. Samsung Electronics also unveiled its 7th-generation High Bandwidth Memory (HBM4E) for the first time at GTC 2026 and announced plans for mass production in the fourth quarter of 2026.

Hyundai Motor and Kia also showed strength, confirming strategic collaboration with Nvidia in the robotaxi sector. Conversely, SK Hynix closed lower due to profit-taking selling, though the company reaffirmed its cooperation with Nvidia on supplying HBM4, which will be used in Nvidia's next-generation chips. SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won also attended the event to discuss cooperation plans with Nvidia executives.