KOSPI Extends Gains for Fourth Straight Session, Fueled by Semiconductor Strength

Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix have climbed for four consecutive days, lifting the KOSPI index. The rise of these two heavyweight companies, the bellwethers of the Korean stock market, has simultaneously boosted overall market sentiment.

The surge in U.S. semiconductor stocks overnight has carried over into the domestic market. The Nasdaq index, heavily weighted with tech stocks, rose 0.54% following confirmation of a slowdown in U.S. consumer price inflation in July. AI cloud provider CoreWeave and server manufacturer Super Micro Computer surged nearly 20% each. Memory chip manufacturers such as Micron Technology, SK Hynix's U.S. ADRs, and SanDisk also saw gains, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rising 2.49% to mark its second day of gains.

The domestic market experienced a significant drop compared to its previous highs last month. Samsung Electronics fell approximately 49% from its mid-June peak, while SK Hynix plummeted 58%. However, the downtrend was halted when SK Hynix hit its upper limit on July 31st and Samsung Electronics surged 26.81%. Since then, both have shown strong performance for three consecutive trading days from August 11th to 13th. The semiconductor index has seen robust gains of 2-4% over the past four days, signaling a recovery in investor confidence.

Daishin Securities forecasts that Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix will return over 150 trillion won and 80 trillion won, respectively, in shareholder returns annually. KB Securities estimates that Samsung Electronics' new shareholder return policy will amount to at least 600 trillion won over three years.