Overview
- South Korea’s benchmark, which closed Wednesday at 7,384.56, set a new record after touching above 7,400 during the session.
- Samsung Electronics jumped about 14 percent to clear a $1 trillion market value after reporting a record first‑quarter operating profit of roughly 57.2 trillion won tied to AI memory demand.
- Foreign investors bought a net 3.1 trillion won of shares, while institutions and individual investors sold on the day.
- A five‑minute buy‑side “sidecar” halted program buying at 9:06 a.m. after futures spiked, following President Donald Trump’s pause of a Hormuz escort plan that eased regional risk.
- The rally stayed narrow, with Samsung, SK Hynix and related chip stocks making up nearly half of the KOSPI’s total value, which also rose above 6 quadrillion won.