With buying pressure from foreign investors who have regained confidence in artificial intelligence (AI) investments, the KOSPI closed on the 5th with a gain of over 3%. The KOSDAQ rose for four consecutive days and is now on the verge of reclaiming the 800th-point level.
On this day, the KOSPI closed regular market trading at 6,598.26, up 239.31 points (3.76%) from the previous trading day. Having surged 17.91% on July 31, the KOSPI has risen for two consecutive recent trading days, reversing the decline of -5.12% recorded on the 3rd. At 9:25 a.m., the sidecar (futures market circuit breaker) signaling a buying direction was triggered for the 22nd time this year (a total of 45 times including both buy and sell directions).
The return of foreign investors led the KOSPI's rise on this day. According to Korea Exchange data at 3:40 p.m., foreign investors made a net purchase of 1.4278 trillion won. Although individuals sold net 1.1662 trillion won and institutional investors sold net 275.2 billion won, the foreign buying pressure drove the index higher.
Lee Kyung-min, a researcher at Daishin Securities, analyzed: "The strong performance of the semiconductor sector in the U.S. stock market yesterday confirmed that hyperscalers will continue their AI investments and generate profits, sustaining expectations." He added, "News that the three major memory companies have completed sales of DRAM and HBM volumes for 2027 further acted as upward pressure on stock prices."
All top 10 sectors by market capitalization closed with gains. Samsung Electronics closed trading at 246,000 won, up 6,000 won (2.5%) from the previous day, while SK Hynix closed at 1.668 million won, up 91,000 won (5.77%). Samsung Electro-Mechanics surged over 14%, Samsung C&T rose over 7%, and SK Square and Samsung Life showed strong gains of over 5%. Hyundai Motor rose over 3%, and KB Financial Group gained over 1%.
By sector, construction rose the most at over 6%. Machinery and equipment were strong with a gain of over 5%, while electrical and electronics, and manufacturing rose by over 4%. Distribution, insurance, and financial services rose by over 3%, while telecommunications and real estate showed mixed stability. Food and tobacco, as well as entertainment and culture, closed with slight declines.
This researcher noted: "While the overall sector performance was strong, the semiconductor, IT hardware, and power equipment sectors showed particularly clear strength." He pointed out that "the construction sector gained momentum as its undervalued appeal relative to earnings became prominent."
The KOSDAQ continued to benefit from favorable winds for four consecutive days, closing at 799.59, up 18.87 points (2.42%) from the previous day, just before reclaiming the 800th-point line.
Having retreated to around the 640th-point level on July 30, the KOSDAQ rose for four consecutive days starting from July 31. After surging 11.63% on July 31, gains continued on August 3 (2.44%), the 4th (5.88%), and the 5th (2.42%).
Among the top sectors by market capitalization, AlteoGen, Rainbow Robotics, and Reno Industrial closed with gains of over 3%. Juseong Engineering and IOTech showed strong performance with gains over 5%, while Wonik IPS and HLB rose by over 1%. Peptron and Pharmic Research closed with declines of over 1%.
By sector, electrical and electronics, and construction rose by over 4%, while non-metallics, machinery and equipment, and metals rose by over 3%. Manufacturing, transportation and equipment, chemicals, distribution, and textiles and clothing rose by over 2%. Financial services, telecommunications, and pharmaceuticals showed mixed stability, while entertainment and culture declined by over 1%.
At 3:30 p.m. on this day, the won/dollar exchange rate in the Seoul foreign exchange market closed weekly trading at 1,424.5 won, down 8 won from the previous day.
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