Home > Business > Finance

Kospi rises 0.51% to set fresh high for 2nd day on chip rally

Published: 23 Sep. 2025, 18:05 Updated: 24 Sep. 2025, 17:18

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 3,486.19 points on Sept. 23, up 17.54 points from the previous session. [YONHAP]

Shares climbed to a new high for the second consecutive session on Tuesday as investors scooped up tech shares amid improved sentiment for the global chip industry. The won traded flat against the dollar.

The Kospi shot up 17.54 points, or 0.51 percent, to close at 3,486.19.

Trade volume was moderate at 350 million shares worth 11.9 trillion won ($8.54 billion), with losers beating gainers 598 to 269.

Foreigners bought a net 303 billion won worth of local shares, while individuals offloaded a net 244 billion won. Institutions sold a net 136.3 billion won.

Tech shares led the overall growth after Nvidia, a leading AI chip producer, unveiled its plan overnight to invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI to build AI data centers.

"Samsung Electronics and SK hynix account for most of the gains on the main bourse, led by the news reports on the partnership between Nvidia and OpenAI," said Seo Sang-young, an analyst at Mirae Asset Securities.

Shares of Samsung Electronics gained 1.44 percent to 84,700 won. The company briefly surpassed the 90,000 won mark during the pre-market session.

SK hynix surged 2.85 percent to 361,000 won.

HD Hyundai Electric climbed 1.54 percent to 594,000 won, with other electric device companies also advancing on hopes stemming from Nvidia's new investment plan.

Pharmaceutical companies were also among the winners, with Samsung Biologics rising 0.97 percent to 1,036,000 won, and Celltrion soaring 8.93 percent to 184,200 won.

The won was quoted at 1,391 won against the greenback at 3:30 p.m., remaining unchanged from the previous session.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed mixed. The yield on three-year Treasurys rose 0.1 basis point to 2.46 percent, while the return on the benchmark five-year government bonds fell 0.8 basis points to 2.598 percent.

Yonhap