5 Top KOSPI Stocks Investors Are Watching Right Now in
Nikkei Reclaims 60,000 With 2.8% Jump as SoftBank Surges and Chip Stocks Extend Rebound From Friday's Rout

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korean stocks surged on Tuesday, with the benchmark index jumping more than 4% as chip giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix rebounded sharply after a punishing selloff last week.

The KOSPI was up 230.30 points, or 4.59%, at 5,249.15 at 3:12 p.m. local time, just before the close.

A fast start

The rally began at the opening bell. The KOSPI opened at 5,247.22, up 228.37 points, or 4.55%, from the previous session.

The surge triggered a market mechanism. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix rose 5% to 7% in early trading, triggering buy-side sidecars on both the KOSPI and KOSDAQ markets. The Korea Exchange activated the buy sidecar, halting program buy orders on the KOSPI for five minutes.

It was the first buy-side sidecar on the KOSPI in nine sessions and on the KOSDAQ in 17.

Chip giants lead

Samsung Electronics gained 4.6% and SK Hynix climbed 5.6%, according to The Associated Press. SK Hynix's shares broke through 1.2 million won.

The gains added significant market value. By 01:40 UTC, the two chipmakers had added about $73 billion of market value, according to FourWeekMBA's calculations.

Wall Street lead

The rally followed a strong U.S. session. Stocks in Japan and South Korea rebounded from oversold levels, driven by overnight gains in U.S. tech stocks and a 6.85% surge in the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index.

Analysts expected the bounce. Han Ji-young, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities, said "Korean shares are expected to rebound today," pointing to a surge of more than 5% in KOSPI 200 night futures.

The rally reflected bargain hunting in semiconductor stocks that had suffered steep losses.

Shrugging off Nvidia

The gains came despite weakness in Nvidia, the AI chip leader that buys memory chips from both Korean companies. The KOSPI's rally shrugged off Nvidia's 4.2% drop overnight, while lower oil prices also lifted Korean airlines.

Still below recent highs

Tuesday's rally recovered only part of last week's losses. The KOSPI closed at 5,383.80 on Nov. 5 before plunging 6.02% on Friday, Nov. 6, in a selloff that triggered a market-wide circuit breaker. Tuesday's gain followed a decline on Monday.

The KOSDAQ also rallied. The tech-heavy KOSDAQ was up nearly 4%.

What's next

Investors will watch whether foreign selling eases and whether U.S. inflation data later this week supports the global tech rebound.