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1h ago

Kospi Soars 18% in Record Single-Day Rebound

Foreign buying after strong U.S. tech earnings sparked short-covering that lifted chip giants, triggered buy-side sidecars and pushed regulators to tighten leveraged-ETF deposit rules.

South Korea's benchmark stock gauge is shown on a screen inside the dealing room of Hana Bank in central Seoul on July 31, 2026. (Yonhap)
A currency trader talks on the phone at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, July 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Monitors display the current Japanese Yen exchange rate against the U.S. dollar at a dealing room of the foreign exchange trading company Gaitame.com in Tokyo, Japan, July 31, 2026. REUTERS/Manami Yamada
KRX activates buy-side sidecar for KOSPI on sharp rise - 1

Overview

  • The Kospi closed roughly 6,595.45 after a roughly 17.9–18 percent gain on Friday as Samsung Electronics and SK hynix hit daily limits and led the market surge.
  • The immediate spark was a powerful overnight rally in U.S. tech stocks following upbeat Microsoft results, which eased worries about demand for AI infrastructure and sent global semiconductor shares higher.
  • Large foreign inflows and short-covering drove much of the move, with net foreign purchases reported in the trillions of won and mechanical ETF rebalancing amplifying the rebound.
  • Regulators responded that day by activating buy-side sidecars to pause program buying and by implementing higher minimum cash deposits for single-stock leveraged ETFs to curb extreme retail leverage.
  • The episode follows earlier weakness after SK hynix’s quarterly profit fell short of lofty expectations and highlights how Korea’s chip-heavy index, retail leverage and cross-border flows can produce fast, large swings in prices.