South Korean shares gain over 3% as chipmakers jump on AI optimism

SAMSUNG BIOLOGICS

12/08/2026 08:02

KOSPI rises, foreigners net buyers
Korean won weakens against dollar
South Korea benchmark bond yield falls
For the midday report, please click nL1N44901K
SEOUL, Aug 12 (Reuters) - Round-up of South Korean financial markets:

** South Korean shares ended more than 3% higher on Wednesday, extending gains for a third straight session, as chipmakers jumped on AI optimism. 
** The benchmark KOSPI .KS11 closed up 233.51 points, or 3.68%, at 6,579.04, its highest close since August 5.
** Wall Street ended lower on Tuesday, with Amazon AMZN.O and Alphabet GOOGL.O dipping, as investors became more pessimistic about a potential deal to bring stability to the Middle East, but the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index .SOX rose 0.9%. .N   
** Chipmaker stocks tracked sharp gains in AI-related stocks in after-hour trading on Wall Street, such as Super Micro Computer SMCI.O and CoreWeave CRWV.O, analysts said. 
** "Investor sentiment was buoyed by a large size of existing orders and new orders reaffirming robust AI infrastructure investments and semiconductor demand," said Lee Kyoung-min, an analyst at Daishin Securities.      
** Among index heavyweights, chipmaker Samsung Electronics 005930.KS rose 6.68%, while peer SK Hynix 000660.KS gained 5.54%. Battery maker LG Energy Solution 373220.KS climbed 1.13%.
** Hyundai Motor 005380.KS and sister automaker Kia Corp 000270.KS were up 1.61% and 0.97%, respectively. Steelmaker POSCO Holdings 005490.KS shed 0.46%, while drugmaker Samsung BioLogics 207940.KS fell 3.73%.
** Of the total 910 traded issues, 380 shares advanced, while 477 declined.
** Foreigners were net buyers of shares worth 2.8 trillion won ($1.98 billion). 
** The won was quoted at 1,415.7 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform KRW=KFTC, 0.19% lower than its previous close at 1,413.0.
** In money and debt markets, September futures on three-year Treasury bonds KTBc1 gained 0.01 point to 103.26.
** The most liquid three-year Korean Treasury bond yield KR3YT=RR fell by 0.5 basis points to 3.797%, while the benchmark 10-year yield KR10YT=RR fell by 0.4 basis point to 4.299%.

($1 = 1,416.5000 won)

 (Reporting by Jihoon Lee; Editing by Sonia Cheema)
 ((jihoon.lee@thomsonreuters.com;))