South Korean shares surged more than 6% on Thursday, putting the benchmark KOSPI on track for its biggest daily gain in three weeks as chipmakers rebounded sharply after the previous session's steep selloff, according to a report by Reuters.
The Kospi was up 407.48 points, or 6.30%, at 6,878.65 as of 0153 GMT. If the gains hold, the index would post its strongest daily percentage increase since July 31. The benchmark had closed nearly 6% lower in the previous session.
The sharp early rally triggered a "sidecar" trading curb, a mechanism designed to temporarily ease excessive market volatility, according to the report.
Chip stocks led the gains, with SK Hynix jumping 12.93% after the company announced plans to buy back and cancel 40 trillion won ($28.69 billion) worth of treasury shares. The company also said it would allocate more than half of its free cash flow generated between 2025 and 2027 towards shareholder returns.
Samsung Electronics, another major chipmaker, surged nearly 10%.
Other heavyweight stocks also advanced. Battery maker LG Energy Solution gained 2.38%, while Hyundai Motor and Kia rose 2.42% and 0.53%, respectively. POSCO Holdings climbed 2.19%, while Samsung BioLogics added 1.68%.
Of the 902 stocks traded, 544 advanced and 319 declined. Foreign investors were net buyers of shares worth 524.5 billion won, Reuters reported.
The South Korean won weakened 0.29% to 1,393.1 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, compared with the previous close of 1,389.1.
In fixed-income markets, September futures on three-year Treasury bonds fell 0.04 point to 103.26. The most liquid three-year Korean Treasury bond yield rose 2.9 basis points to 3.815%, while the benchmark 10-year yield declined 8.8 basis points to 4.325%, according to Reuters.
