[Edaily Reporter PARK MIN ] The KOSPI market opened higher on the 29th, rebounding from the shock of the previous day’s “double-digit plunge” caused by a decline in semiconductor stocks. SK hynix(000660), the second-largest company by market capitalization, led the market rebound by announcing record-breaking quarterly operating profit exceeding 60 trillion won. Market analysts suggest that bargain-hunting is driving the rally as stocks become more attractive following the previous day’s sharp decline.

According to MP Doctor, as of 9:10 a.m. today, the KOSPI index stands at 6,187.26, up 163.60 points (2.72%) from the previous trading day. The KOSPI is rising by more than 2% in early trading, rebounding from the previous day’s plunge of over 10%.

In terms of supply and demand, foreign investors are driving the index’s rebound with net purchases of 17.7 billion won, while institutional investors are net buyers of 77.7 billion won. In contrast, retail investors are net sellers of 105.3 billion won, appearing to take profits on some of the shares they bought at low prices the previous day.

In particular, the two leading domestic semiconductor companies— SamsungElectronics(005930)and SK hynix(000660)—which were the main culprits behind the previous day’s stock market carnage, are both rebounding in unison, driving the market higher. At this time, SamsungElectronics is trading at 231,500 won, up 5.23% from the previous trading day, while SK hynix(000660)is trading at 1,605,500 won, up 3.58%.

In particular, SK hynix, which announced its second-quarter earnings today, fell as low as 1,426,000 won in pre-market trading but managed to stage a sharp rebound.

SK hynix announced today that its operating profit for the second quarter of this year was preliminarily estimated at 60.5426 trillion won, a 557.2% increase compared to the same period last year. Revenue reached 79.3187 trillion won, a 256.8% increase year-over-year. With an operating profit margin (operating profit as a percentage of revenue) exceeding 76%, the company continued its streak of record-breaking performance.

For the first half of the year, revenue exceeded 131 trillion won, marking the first time the company has surpassed the 100 trillion won mark for a half-year period, while operating profit also approached 100 trillion won. Sales of high-value-added products, driven by sustained demand for artificial intelligence (AI), led to the strong performance, and expectations are growing that this growth in demand will continue into the second half of the year.

Among the top-market-cap stocks on the KOSPI, SamsungElectroMechanics(009150) rose 3.95%, HyundaiMotor(005380)rose 3.98%, SKSQUARE(402340)rose 3.35%, and KIA CORPORATION(000270)rose 2.30%. KB Financial Group(105560)(1.39%), SAMSUNG C&T CORPORATION(028260)(0.98%), and HD HYUNDAI HEAVY INDUSTRIES(329180)(1.33%) also rose in tandem, contributing to the index’s rebound.

On the other hand, some stocks saw profit-taking. SAMSUNG BIOLOGICS(207940)fell 1.74%, while HANWHA AEROSPACE(012450)dropped 2.29%, Samsung Life Insurance(032830)fell 0.53%, and ShinhanFinancialGroup Co.,Ltd.(055550)declined 0.30%, all showing weakness. LG Energy Solution(373220)rose 0.32%, posting a modest gain that kept it near the flat line.

At the same time, the KOSDAQ Index rose 4.04 points (0.57%) from the previous trading day to close at 709.89. The index opened higher, climbing as high as 719.39 during the session, but subsequently gave up some of its gains. The intraday low was 709.89.

In terms of market participants, retail investors and institutional investors supported the index’s rise with net purchases of 26 billion won and 6.6 billion won, respectively. In contrast, foreign investors engaged in profit-taking, recording net sales of 32.6 billion won. Program trading showed a net purchase of 700 million won in arbitrage trades and a net sale of 34.7 billion won in non-arbitrage trades, resulting in an overall net sale of 33.9 billion won.

On the KOSDAQ, robotics stocks showed relative strength. Rainbow Robotics(277810)traded at 427,500 won, up 6.74% from the previous trading day, posting the highest gain among the top market-cap stocks. JUSUNG ENGINEERING Co.,Ltd.(036930)also rose 1.01%, while LEENO Industrial Inc(058470)(0.81%), WONIK IPS Co.,Ltd.(240810)(0.34%), and PSK INC.(319660)(0.08%) joined the rally.

In contrast, the secondary battery and biotech sectors performed somewhat poorly. While ECOPRO CO., LTD(086520)rose 0.96%, ECOPRO BM CO., LTD.(247540)fell 0.49%, resulting in a mixed performance. Alteogen Inc.(196170), a leading biotech stock, fell 1.01%, and HLB INC.(028300)(-1.48%), PharmaResearch(214450)(-2.80%), ABL Bio Inc.(298380)(-2.03%), Peptron, Inc.(087010)(-2.31%), LigaChem Biosciences(141080)(-3.09%), and SAM CHUN DANG PHARM CO. LTD(000250)(-3.37%) also showed weakness.

By sector, leisure equipment and chemical products posted the highest gain, rising 4.28%. Following that, automotive (4.08%), auto parts (4.06%), semiconductors and semiconductor equipment (3.70%), and machinery (3.06%) all joined the rally, showing gains in the 3–4% range.

Conversely, the sector with the largest decline was Internet and catalog retail, which fell 6.55%. This was followed by broadcasting and entertainment (-3.25%), aerospace and defense (-2.40%), and electrical equipment (-2.38%), all of which fell more than 2% and showed weakness.

Overnight, the New York Stock Exchange closed mixed as a recovery in investor sentiment coincided with a correction in semiconductor stocks and a decline in international oil prices. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 537.24 points (1.03%) from the previous trading day to close at 52,747.32, while the large-cap-focused S&P 500 index closed at 7,428.78, up 15.60 points (0.21%). In contrast, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index closed at 24,876.91, down 55.17 points (-0.22%).

In particular, the New York stock market saw a rotation in trading, with “old economy” sectors performing strongly amid a sharp correction in the semiconductor sector, which had been rallying this year. Notably, Apple defied the semiconductor sector’s weakness; amid recent concerns about an “artificial intelligence (AI) bubble,” the company—which has maintained a sound financial structure without significant investment—saw its market capitalization surpass $5 trillion for the first time in history during the trading session.