South Korean Stocks Close Higher for Second Day on Semiconductor Rally

SEOUL, July 10 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks closed higher Friday, extending their winning streak to a second consecutive session, as semiconductor shares rallied following overnight gains on Wall Street. The local currency gained ground against the U.S. dollar.

After choppy trading, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 184.03 points, or 2.52 percent, to close at 7,475.94.

Trade volume was moderate at 449.53 million shares worth 31.16 trillion won (US$20.73 billion), with gainers far outnumbering losers 799 to 92.

Institutions purchased a net 1.13 trillion won worth of shares, while individuals and foreigners sold a net 772.82 billion won and 322.56 billion won, respectively. Foreign investors turned net sellers after two consecutive sessions of net buying.

After opening more than 3 percent higher, the KOSPI climbed as much as 5.7 percent during the session, triggering a buy-side sidecar that temporarily halted program trading in KOSPI-listed shares for five minutes. It marked the third activation of the trading curb this week.

The KOSPI gave up some of its earlier gains in afternoon trading as investors locked in profits.

Investor sentiment improved after U.S. stocks closed higher overnight, supported by a strong rebound in semiconductor shares and easing oil prices.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.27 percent, while the S&P 500 rose 0.81 percent. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.3 percent.

In Seoul, large-cap stocks finished broadly higher.

Semiconductor heavyweight Samsung Electronics went up 2.52 percent to 285,000 won.

In contrast, SK hynix edged down 0.27 percent to 2.18 million won after opening higher. The company is set to make its debut on the tech-heavy Nasdaq through the listing of its American depositary receipts (ADRs).

"Investor sentiment toward the semiconductor sector improved as Meta's capital spending plans and Micron's investment outlook helped ease concerns about the industry's prospects," said Lee Kyung-min, an analyst at Daeshin Securities. "Strong investor demand for SK hynix's ADR offering also supported sentiment toward semiconductor stocks, adding upward momentum to the broader market."

Artificial intelligence investment firm SK Square advanced 6.18 percent to 1.41 million won, while chip components maker Samsung Electro-Mechanics gained 6.1 percent to 1.58 million won.

The Korean won was quoted at 1,501.4 won against the U.S. dollar at 3:30 p.m., up 4.7 won from the previous session.