Seoul stocks open at record high, surpass 9,000 mark on AI chip rally

SEOUL, June 19 (Yonhap) -- Seoul stocks opened at a fresh record high Friday after surging past a new milestone of above 9,000, boosted by a continued chip rally amid a boom in artificial intelligence (AI).

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) was up 215.3 points, or 2.38 percent, at 9,279.14 as of 9:15 a.m.

The market got a boost from overnight gains on Wall Street, led by major chipmakers, such as Intel, Nvidia and Micron Technology.

U.S. President Donald Trump said that Intel had agreed to a deal with Apple to design and build chips in the United States.

Analyst Han Ji-young from Kiwoom Securities expected the local market to continue to enjoy a chip rally, noting there seems to be a "consensus" that increasing dependence on major leading stocks, such as Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, is the "winning strategy."

"But investors should know that there are accumulating exhaustion and demand for profit taking, following the past week of surge," Han added.

Market top-cap Samsung Electronics added 1.1 percent, while its rival SK hynix jumped 4.28 percent.

Top carmaker Hyundai Motor inched up 0.33 percent, battery maker Samsung SDI vaulted 7.28 percent, and financial firm KB Financial rose 1.47 percent.

Among the decliners were defense giant Hanwha Aerospace, which inched down 0.42 percent, and electronics maker LG Electronics, which fell 2.63 percent.

The Korean won was trading at 1,536 won against the U.S. dollar, down 8.9 won from the previous session, as of 9:15 a.m.