Seoul shares surged on Tuesday, entering a battle over the KOSPI 5,700 and KOSDAQ 750 levels. Anthropic, which initiated its initial public offering (IPO) overnight and alleviated concerns about artificial intelligence profitability, led the rebound in semiconductor stocks.
At 11:30 a.m., the KOSPI stood at at 5,684.83, up 215.36 points (3.94%) from the previous trading day. After opening at 5,658.65, up 189.18 points (3.46%), and widening its gains, the Korea Exchange triggered a buy-side sidecar (futures market circuit breaker) just 73 minutes after the open.
The shift in foreign supply and demand to "buy" for the first time in four trading days is notable. As of this moment, on the Korea Exchange and NextTrade, foreigners have made net purchases worth 858 billion won, while institutional investors have bought a net 457.1 billion won. Meanwhile, retail investors have sold a net 1.4336 trillion won, stepping back from the market.
The stock market's strength is being driven by a surge in large-cap semiconductor stocks. Based on Korea Exchange data, Samsung Electronics rose 10,000 won (4.39%) to 223,000 won, and SK Hynix traded at 1,361,000 won, up 86,000 won (6.75%), leading the index's rise.
SK Square, a stock with equity and industrial ties, is expanding its gains to over 11%, while Samsung Electro-Mechanics is rising in the 8% range, recovering this month's losses. As the momentum spreads to KOSDAQ semiconductor materials, components and equipment (SME) stocks, Simmtech is up in the 9% range, Wonik IPS in the 7% range, and Rino Industrial in the 5% range.
Coupled with strength in secondary batteries such as Ecopro (8.75%) and Ecopro BM (7.92%), the KOSDAQ index was calculated at 751.13, up 23.92 points (3.29%) from the previous day, as of this moment.
News that Anthropic, the developer of the AI model "Claude," has applied for a NASDAQ listing heated up the stock market. According to a report by The Wall Street Journal on the 26th (local time) regarding a confidential investment prospectus, Anthropic received a corporate valuation of up to $2 trillion (2,700 trillion won) and plans to raise $100 billion (133 trillion won). This plan exceeds the level set by SpaceX in June (corporate valuation of $1.7 trillion, raised amount of $75 billion).
Attention has focused on Anthropic's profitability improvement trends. According to the Securities Registration Statement (S-1) filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the company's first-half revenue this year was $162.9 billion (216 trillion won), an increase of approximately 14 times compared to the same period last year. Its second-quarter operating profit was $970 million (1.284 trillion won, profit margin of 8.4%), marking a turn to profitability unlike the same period last year.
Han Ji-young, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, said, "We have reconfirmed that performance improvements in AI models and customer expansion are translating into actual service revenue growth, thereby alleviating concerns about AI monetization to some extent."
She added, "As time passes, the market will react more sensitively than before to whether AI companies can improve their profitability and cash flows."
She continued, "While technical trend burdens remain, such as KOSPI moving averages forming a bearish alignment pattern on charts, the possibility of a mood reversal through the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) and big tech and semiconductor earnings in the latter half of the week is open." She noted, "At this point, it is a priority to maintain existing positions reflecting improved price resistance and the potential for a stock price rebound, rather than further reducing equity exposure."
Lee Jae-won, a researcher at Yuanta Securities, stated, "With the morning KOSPI sidecar triggered, we have confirmed that if the supply-demand issue that was ultimately the problem is resolved, the market can rebound significantly." He added, "We judge that the shift from 'patient waiting' to 'sweet results after hardship' is possible when trust in AI monetization consistently translates into foreign net cash purchases. Considering expectations for fundamental indicators and shareholder return policies, we anticipate a positive market direction and recommend a phased increase in buying exposure based on earnings confirmation and supply-demand sustainability, rather than chasing buys."
The researcher noted, "Over the next two weeks, major events are scheduled in succession: SK Hynix's preliminary earnings on the 28th, Samsung Electronics' confirmed earnings and shareholder return plan announcement on the 29th, the FOMC meeting and Microsoft (MS) and Alphabet earnings in the early hours of the 29th, Amazon earnings in the early hours of the 30th, and the U.S. midterm elections on the 3rd of next month." He added, "It is necessary to reconfirm memory prices and long-term contract levels, as well as the sustainability of hyperscalers' capital investment and cash flows, while easing political uncertainty after the election is also an expected positive factor."
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