The benchmark KOSPI advanced more than 3% to around 5,730 on Friday, retracing part of a seven-session slide that had dragged the index to an eleven-week low. The rebound was supported by bargain hunting and a recovery in global equity markets.
Tech heavyweights led the gains, with Samsung Electronics up more than 2% and SK hynix rising nearly 3%. Other notable advancers included SK Square (3.0%), Hyundai Motor (5.3%), Hanwha Aerospace (9.0%), Kia Corporation (4.9%), KB Financial Group (2.9%), and Doosan Enerbility (2.7%).
Still, persistent concerns over AI-related valuations, intensifying Chinese competition in the memory-chip segment, and doubts about the durability of AI-driven spending continued to weigh on the semiconductor sector, tempering the broader market recovery. Sentiment was further pressured by hotter‑than‑expected US producer inflation, which reinforced expectations of tighter monetary conditions.
At the same time, elevated oil prices—amid escalating attacks in the Middle East and mounting risks to regional energy supplies—added to inflation worries and kept investors cautious.
