[Edaily Reporter Kwon Oh Seok ] The KOSPI opened higher, buoyed by NVIDIA’s strong earnings, but gave up some of its gains due to the Bank of Korea’s decision to raise interest rates. As a result, the index’s return to the 7,000 level (KOSPI 7,000) has been postponed.

According to MP Doctor on the 27th, the KOSPI opened at 6,996.12, up 187.91 points (2.76%) from the previous trading day, and closed at 6,912.37, up 104.16 points (1.53%).
In the KOSPI market that day, retail investors sold a net 1.912 trillion won, while foreign and institutional investors made net purchases of 135.4 billion won and 181.4 billion won, respectively. By trading type, combined arbitrage and non-arbitrage trades showed a net buying position of 155.2 billion won.
Earlier that night, NVIDIA announced earnings that exceeded market expectations, bringing a tailwind to the domestic stock market. On the 26th (local time), NVIDIA announced that revenue for the second quarter of fiscal year 2027 (May–July) reached $96.22 billion (approximately 133.3147 trillion Hanwha won), up 106% year-over-year and 18% quarter-over-quarter. Driven by explosive demand for AI semiconductors, the company set a new record for the 13th consecutive quarter, exceeding Wall Street’s consensus estimate of $92.27 billion—compiled by financial data provider FactSet—by approximately $4 billion.
The securities industry assessed that NVIDIA’s strong earnings confirmed the persistence of supply bottlenecks and AI demand through 2028. Han Ji-young, an analyst at KIWOOM Securities, predicted, “Given that this NVIDIA earnings report has improved the visibility of demand for memory products such as HBM (High Bandwidth Memory) and DRAM, as well as strengthened memory manufacturers’ pricing power, investor sentiment toward the semiconductor sector—a leading sector that has been plagued by uncertainty for some time—is expected to enter a recovery phase.”
However, the KOSPI gave up some of its gains after news broke during the morning session that the Bank of Korea’s Monetary Policy Committee had raised the benchmark interest rate from 2.75% to 3.00%—marking the second consecutive hike. When interest rates rise, funds flow out of the stock market into safe-haven assets. Consequently, the KOSPI—which had been aiming to reclaim the 7,000 level—fell back to the 6,840 level, settling at a slightly positive level, but regained its upward momentum thanks to buying pressure from foreign and institutional investors.
Lee Kyung-min, an analyst at DaishinSecurities, noted, “Robust AI investment and reaffirmed growth prospects in the semiconductor sector have bolstered investor sentiment across related industries,” but added, “The 0.25 percentage point hike in the benchmark interest rate at the August Monetary Policy Committee meeting has sparked caution.”
On the KOSPI market that day, large-cap stocks rose 1.66%, mid-cap stocks rose 0.22%, and small-cap stocks fell 0.13%. By sector, electrical and electronics (2.62%), metals (2.30%), and manufacturing (2.04%) rose, while retail (2.36%), electricity and gas (2.05%), and food, beverages, and tobacco (1.56%) fell.
Top-market-cap stocks showed mixed performance. According to the Korea Exchange, SamsungElectronics(005930)rose 4,500 won (1.72%) to 266,000 won, while SK hynix(000660)rose 42,000 won (2.49%) to 1.73 million won. In contrast, HyundaiMotor(005380)and SAMSUNG C&T CORPORATION(028260)fell 2.45% and 3.10%, respectively.
Meanwhile, the KOSDAQ index opened at 828.42, up 1.55 points (0.19%) from the previous trading day, and closed at 837.65, up 10.78 points (1.30%). In the KOSDAQ market, retail investors were the only net sellers, offloading 149.6 billion won, while foreign and institutional investors were net buyers, purchasing 88.4 billion won and 62.4 billion won, respectively. By trading program, there was a net buying position of 129.6 billion won when combining arbitrage and non-arbitrage trades.