KOSPI Reclaims 8,000 Mark on Hopes for End of War; 13th Buy Sidecar of the Year Triggered

[Anchor]

The KOSPI has surged back above the 8,000-point mark, fueled by expectations that the conflict in the Middle East may be coming to an end. A "sidecar" was triggered early in the trading session, temporarily halting program buying as buy orders flooded the market.

Reporter Hong Yeongjae has the story.

[Reporter]

At the opening bell, the KOSPI jumped 6% from the previous day to reach 8,263 points.

This rally is attributed to the impact of the U.S. stock market closing higher early this morning (June 12), following reports that a memorandum of understanding to end the war between the United States and Iran is imminent.

Six minutes into the session, as KOSPI 200 futures rose by more than 7.7%, the Korea Exchange activated a buy sidecar, suspending the execution of program buy orders for five minutes.

This marks the 13th buy sidecar triggered this year and the first in three days since June 9.

The KOSPI, which briefly broke through the 8,400-point level—an 8.5% increase from yesterday—is currently trading in the high 8,300 range.

Foreign investors, who had been net sellers of domestic stocks for 24 consecutive trading days until yesterday, are showing a net buying trend of over 1.2 trillion won.

Institutional investors are also net buyers, with a surplus of over 1.4 trillion won.

Samsung Electronics, a leader in the Korean stock market, surged 11% compared to the previous close, while SK Hynix rose by over 7%, and Hyundai Motor climbed 5.8%.

Foreign investors are focusing their purchases on semiconductor-related stocks, buying over 340 billion won in Samsung Electronics and 170 billion won in SK Hynix.

Space-related ETFs are also seeing gains of up to 15% due to expectations surrounding the listing of Elon Musk's SpaceX, which is scheduled for tonight.

The won-dollar exchange rate opened at 1,518.0 won, down 10.9 won from the previous day, and has been fluctuating around the 1,520 won level.

(Video Editing: Park Ji-in)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.