[Edaily Reporter Kim Hyung-il ] The KOSPI is surging by over 6%, buoyed by bargain-hunting following the previous day’s sharp drop of more than 5% and a stabilization in the rise of U.S. long-term interest rates. The index’s gains have continued to widen since the start of the session as major semiconductor stocks soared following the announcement by SK hynix(000660)of a 40 trillion won share buyback and cancellation program.

As of 1:06 p.m. on the 20th, the KOSPI stands at 6,880.23, up 409.06 points (6.32%) from the previous trading day. The index opened 3.23% higher at 6,680.34 and has continued to gain momentum, extending its upward trend into the afternoon. Currently, 498 stocks are up, 365 are down, and 4 have hit their daily upper price limit.

Early in the session, a buy-side car was triggered due to a sharp surge in KOSPI 200 futures. At 9:57 a.m. today, the nearest-month KOSPI 200 futures contract rose 5.1% from the reference price of 1,016.25 to 1,068.15, and as this increase persisted for one minute, the buy-side car was triggered. Consequently, the execution of buy orders from program trading was suspended for five minutes. This buy-side sidecar marks the first such activation in five trading days since the 12th and is the 24th buy-side sidecar triggered so far this year.

In terms of supply and demand, foreign and institutional investors are net buyers, supporting the index’s rise. Foreign investors have made net purchases of 983.6 billion won, and institutional investors have made net purchases of 571.1 billion won, while retail investors have made net sales of 2.2724 trillion won.

The rally is particularly pronounced among large-cap stocks. KOSPI large-cap stocks rose 7.05%, significantly outpacing the gains of mid-cap (0.9%) and small-cap (0.63%) stocks. By sector, the electrical and electronics sector surged 9.92%, while manufacturing (7.79%), securities (5.06%), retail (4.45%), and insurance (4.40%) also showed strength.

SamsungElectronics(005930)is trading at 271,500 won, up 9.7%. SK hynix extended its gains, surging 14.33% to 1,715,000 won. SamsungElectronics(1P)(005935)is also up 10.77%, while SKSQUARE(402340)is up 12.45%. SAMSUNG C&T CORPORATION(028260)is up 7.78%, and SAMSUNG BIOLOGICS(207940)is up 2.91%. In contrast, SamsungElectroMechanics(009150)rose only 0.22%, and HANWHA AEROSPACE(012450)rose just 0.93%.

In particular, SK hynix’s announcement of a large-scale shareholder return program is serving as the key driver behind the strength in semiconductor stocks. SK hynix decided yesterday to repurchase 40 trillion won worth of its own shares and cancel them in their entirety. This amounts to approximately 3.3% of its outstanding shares, and the company also expanded its existing shareholder return policy—based on free cash flow (FCF)—from within 50% to 50% or more.

In the U.S. stock market, investor sentiment toward risky assets recovered somewhat as the rise in long-term interest rates subsided. Although the rise in long-term interest rates has stabilized as the U.S. Treasury more than doubled the scale of its buyback of 10- to 30-year Treasury bonds, U.S. semiconductor stocks performed weakly, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index falling 2.1%. In contrast, biotech stocks rose on the back of Phase 3 clinical trial results for mRNA-based cancer treatments from Moderna and Merck, leading the three major U.S. stock indices to post modest gains.

Kim Ki-baek, an analyst at Shinhan Investment Securities, stated, “Investor sentiment is recovering as the rise in long-term interest rates has stabilized following the U.S. Treasury Department’s expansion of its long-term Treasury bond buyback program.” He added, “SK hynix’s 40 trillion won share buyback and cancellation, along with the upward revision of its free cash flow (FCF) shareholder return targets, are acting as catalysts for a rebound in domestic semiconductor stocks.” He further assessed, “The domestic stock market, which had already priced in the previous day’s negative factors, successfully rebounded, led by SK hynix.”

The KOSDAQ is also recovering from the previous day’s losses, rising by over 2%. As of 1:06 p.m., the KOSDAQ stands at 841.09, up 16.63 points (2.02%) from the previous trading day. There are 976 gainers, outnumbering the 676 decliners, with 5 stocks hitting their upper price limit and 1 hitting its lower price limit. In terms of supply and demand, retail investors are net buyers of 36.9 billion won, institutional investors are net buyers of 75.3 billion won, and foreign investors are net sellers of 120.4 billion won.

On the KOSDAQ market, Alteogen Inc.(196170)is surging 11.2%, while ECOPRO BM CO., LTD.(247540)(3.28%), JUSUNG ENGINEERING Co.,Ltd.(036930)(2.62%), WONIK IPS Co.,Ltd.(240810)(2.65%), and ABL Bio Inc.(298380)(4.27%) are also rising. Conversely, HLB INC.(028300)is down 2.38%.