▲ Stock prices are displayed on a screen at Hana Bank's dealing room in Seoul on July 3, 2026. (Yonhap)

stocks-summary

Seoul stocks jump nearly 6 pct as bargain buying lifts chipmakers

SEOUL, July 3 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks rebounded nearly 6 percent Friday as investors snapped up bargain-priced semiconductor shares after the previous session's steep sell-off. The Korean won also strengthened against the U.S. dollar.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 440.25 points, or 5.76 percent, to close at 8,088.34, after rising as high as 8,211.54.

The rebound came after the index plunged 7.89 percent on Thursday, dragged down by a sharp sell-off in Samsung Electronics and SK hynix.

At around 1:50 p.m., the Korea Exchange (KRX) activated a buy-side sidecar, halting program trading in KOSPI-listed shares for five minutes.

A buy-side sidecar is triggered when the KOSPI 200 Futures Index rises 5 percent or more and remains at that level for at least one minute.

Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose more than 1 percent to a record high as weaker-than-expected June jobs data eased concerns over a near-term interest rate hike. The tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 0.8 percent, weighed down by ainother sharp sell-off in semiconductor stocks.

The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index tumbled 5.4 percent, extending its decline for a second consecutive session.

Investors bought semiconductor shares following reports that AI startup Anthropic is in talks with Samsung Electronics to develop a custom AI chip.

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