KOSPI surges over 4% on strong semiconductor gains

South Korea's KOSPI index experienced a significant surge in early trading on August 13, climbing over 4% as semiconductor stocks led a broad market rally. The benchmark index opened at 6,773.92, up 2.96% from the previous day, and rapidly expanded its gains to reach 6,863.27 by 9:07 AM.

Leading the charge were major semiconductor players, with Samsung Electronics rising 5.19% to 268,750 won and SK Hynix jumping 7.25% to 1,613,000 won. Other related stocks, such as SK Square and Samsung Electro-Mechanics, also saw substantial increases, trading up more than 10%.

The upward momentum in the Korean market mirrored a positive trend in U.S. semiconductor stocks, including Micron and SanDisk, which saw significant gains overnight. This rally was further fueled by surprisingly strong earnings from AI infrastructure-related companies like Coherent and Super Microcomputer, which demonstrated sustained demand for artificial intelligence.

Analysts noted that the market's reaction suggests that fears of an AI demand peak may have been overstated. Additionally, a moderation in U.S. inflation, with the July Consumer Price Index (CPI) rising 3.4% year-on-year, down from 3.5% in the previous month, has helped to ease broader market concerns and boost investor sentiment, particularly for technology stocks.

“

The peak-out fears of AI demand, which were at the center of market instability, were excessive.