South Korean shares hit record on chipmakers' upbeat data

LG Energy Solution

23/04/2026 08:08

KOSPI rises, foreigners net sellers

Korean won weakens against dollar

South Korea benchmark bond yield rises

For the midday report, please click nL1N41601R

SEOUL, April 23 (Reuters) - Round-up of South Korean financial markets:

** South Korean shares notched a fresh record close on Thursday, led by gains in chipmakers on strong first-quarter data.

** The benchmark KOSPI .KS11 rose 57.88 points, or 0.90%, at 6,475.81.

** Samsung Electronics 005930.KS advanced 3.22%, extending gains following upbeat earnings projections earlier this month, and SK Hynix 000660.KS gained 0.16%. Both posted record closes.

** SK Hynix set a record for quarterly profit with a five-fold jump in earnings, though slightly missing market expectations, and forecast artificial-intelligence chip demand would exceed manufacturing capacity.

** South Korea's economy delivered its fastest growth in nearly six years last quarter, smashing forecasts as booming chip exports rode a global surge in AI investment.

** "While Samsung's earnings were a huge surprise, it was not the case for SK Hynix," said Huh Jae-hwan, an analyst at Eugene Investment Securities.

** "First quarter results show profit margins are way bigger for regular memory chips than the advanced ones used for AI," Huh said, referring to the main business areas of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, respectively.

** Meanwhile, tens of thousands of Samsung Electronics workers rallied, venting their anger over compensation levels.

** Most other index heavyweights fell, with battery maker LG Energy Solution 373220.KS falling 3.72%, while Hyundai Motor 005380.KS and sister automaker Kia Corp 000270.KS were down 1.66% and 1.00%, respectively.

** Foreigners were net sellers of shares worth 49.0 billion won ($33.09 million).

** The won was quoted at 1,481.0 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform KRW=KFTC, 0.05% lower than its previous close at 1,480.3.

** The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield KR3YT=RR rose by 9.7 basis points to 3.464%, while the benchmark 10-year yield KR10YT=RR rose by 9.5 basis points to 3.795%.

($1 = 1,480.6000 won)

(Reporting by Jihoon Lee; Editing by Harikrishnan Nair)

((jihoon.lee@thomsonreuters.com;))