KOSPI rebounds 2.24% to 5,859.08 after sharp late-October decline
Key Facts
South Korea’s KOSPI closed 2 November up 2.24% at 5,859.08, after rising to 5,910.83 during the session, Korea Herald reported, citing Yonhap. The rebound followed a 3.5% drop on Friday, 30 October, when AI concerns weighed on a market dominated by technology stocks, according to the Associated Press. On Monday, the index opened down more than 1% before trimming its losses and turning higher, then moved above 5,900 during trading, according to Chosun Biz. This corrects the draft’s account of a decline on 3 November: the latest documented close in the evidence was a gain in the previous session. Advances broadened across the main board, with 653 stocks rising against 230 decliners.
Shares of major chipmakers supported the index on Monday. Samsung Electronics rose 1.78% to 229,000 won, while SK hynix gained 3.81% to 1,472,000 won, Korea Herald reported, citing Yonhap. The gains came after a week of pressure on technology stocks, but did not mean all investors had returned to buying. Foreign and retail investors together sold a net 1.72 trillion won worth of KOSPI shares, while institutions bought a net 1.23 trillion won. A researcher at Daishin Securities said part of the shock from Friday’s drop in U.S. chip stocks had already been reflected in the Korean market. That eased additional selling pressure during Monday’s trading, the researcher added.
An analyst at Daishin Securities linked the rebound to investors reassessing Intel’s disappointing quarterly results and shifting their focus to the fundamentals of the domestic semiconductor sector, Korea Herald reported, citing Yonhap. The analyst said Intel’s weakness was interpreted as pressure on the PC industry from rising memory prices, rather than a collapse in demand for PCs. That interpretation, according to Chosun Biz, helped spread the view that memory suppliers still had pricing power. Intel shares had fallen more than 28% on Wall Street on Friday after the company forecast fourth-quarter sales below expectations, citing a slowdown in the PC market. Samsung, meanwhile, posted a record operating profit of 107.4 trillion won in the third quarter, supported by stronger demand for memory chips used in AI systems, the Associated Press reported.
Trade data provide context for the importance of chips to the Korean market’s performance: the country’s exports jumped more than 90% year on year in October, while chip exports rose 259%, supported by strong global demand, Korea Herald reported, citing Yonhap. Samsung and SK hynix announced in June plans for a joint investment of 800 trillion won in a new chipmaking hub in southwestern South Korea, according to the Associated Press. The agency reported that analysts are questioning the spending’s viability, while the Bank of Korea has warned that the country’s trade-dependent economy relies on chips to a degree that could amplify the damage from any AI-related downturn. The Daishin analyst said confirmation of a trend shift would require foreign investors to return as net buyers of semiconductor shares. The analyst also tied confirmation of a reversal to the index regaining its 5,938 close recorded on 29 October, followed by the 6,000 level recorded on 28 October.
On its business outlook, Samsung said it expects demand for its AI-related chips to accelerate through 2027, outpacing supply as customers expand AI infrastructure, according to the Associated Press. That forecast stands alongside concerns from analysts and the Bank of Korea about the viability of spending and the risks of reliance on chips. The next economic release identified in the evidence is the U.S. Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS, for September. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has scheduled the report’s release for 3 November 2026 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern time. The official calendar does not specify an impact from the data on the KOSPI or investment flows.