The KOSPI rose more than 4%, triggering a buy-side sidecar, driven by strength in U.S. semiconductor stocks, SK Hynix’s strong third-quarter earnings and expanded shareholder returns.
The Korea Exchange announced at 9:54 a.m. on the 28th that it had triggered a temporary suspension of program trading buy orders (buy-side sidecar) for the KOSPI. This is the 50th sidecar triggered in the KOSPI market this year and the 27th buy-side sidecar. A buy-side sidecar was also triggered on the KOSPI on the 27th, as concerns over AI (artificial intelligence) profitability stemming from the U.S. eased.
At the time of the sidecar trigger, the KOSPI 200 futures contract stood at 928.02, up 45.64 points (5.17%) from the previous day. At the same time, the KOSPI was at 5,895.33, up 256.99 points (4.56%) from the previous trading day.
A sidecar is a market stabilization mechanism that suspends the validity of program trading orders for five minutes. The KOSPI sidecar is triggered when the price of the KOSPI 200 futures contract rises or falls by more than 5% compared to the previous day’s closing price and this state persists for at least one minute.
U.S. semiconductor stocks showed strength in overnight U.S. markets, influenced by factors such as the IPO (initial public offering) application of AI company Anthropic.
Domestically, before the start of regular trading hours, SK Hynix announced third-quarter results that exceeded market expectations and plans to expand shareholder returns. As a result, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are showing strength in the 6% range.
SK Hynix announced that its third-quarter revenue was 104.6155 trillion won and operating profit was 83.3334 trillion won, marking all-time highs on a quarterly basis.
The operating profit margin reached 79.7%. Additionally, SK Hynix decided to implement additional shareholder returns of over 60 trillion won through share buybacks and cancellations.
It plans to return the majority of profits realized from its investment in Kioxia this year to shareholders. SK Hynix’s total shareholder return for this year is expected to reach 100 trillion won, including the 40th trillion won approved in August.
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