South Korea’s benchmark KOSPI surged more than 5% to around 6,830 on Thursday, staging a sharp rebound from the previous session’s 5.8% slide as easing US Treasury yields revived risk appetite. The pullback in long-term Treasury yields came after the US Treasury announced a substantial increase in debt buybacks, alleviating concerns over rising borrowing costs that had been pressuring global equity markets.
Sentiment was further supported by overnight gains on Wall Street, where the S&P 500 and Nasdaq both advanced, providing an additional tailwind for Korean stocks.
Chipmakers led the rally. Samsung Electronics climbed around 7%, while SK hynix soared nearly 11% after unveiling a record KRW 40 trillion share buyback and cancellation program, a move expected to boost shareholder returns and underpin the company’s valuation.
Other notable gainers included SK Square (up 6.9%), LG Energy Solution (2.2%), Samsung C&T (5.3%), Samsung SDI (5.3%), Celltrion (2.2%), LG Electronics (1.2%), and SK Inc. (4.7%).
