▲ The dealing room at Hana Bank in Seoul on May 13, 2026 (Yonhap)

(2nd LD) stocks-summary

(2nd LD) Seoul shares sharply rebound to end at fresh peak on tech rally; won drops

(ATTN: ADDS bond yields at bottom)

SEOUL, May 13 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks rebounded by more than 2 percent to settle above the 7,800-point mark Wednesday as investors scooped up semiconductor and auto shares amid lingering Middle East tensions ahead of the U.S.-China summit. The local currency declined against the U.S. dollar.

Opening 1.69 percent lower, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index reversed course to close at 7,844.01, up 200.86 points, or 2.63 percent.

The index fell 2.29 percent to finish at 7,643.15 on Tuesday on profit hunting, ending a five-session bullish run driven by tech stocks.

Trade volume was heavy at 733.4 million shares worth 49.7 trillion won (US$33.4 billion), with losers outnumbering winners 599 to 281.

Individual investors and institutions led the uptick, purchasing a net 1.9 trillion won and 1.7 trillion won worth of stocks, respectively, while foreigners unloaded a net 3.7 trillion won.

Overnight, U.S. inflation in April rose at the fastest pace in nearly three years, while oil prices climbed back above US$100 per barrel amid fading hopes for a Middle East peace deal.

Investor sentiment, however, improved on expectations that the upcoming U.S.-China summit could help ease concerns over the Iran conflict.

Market sentiment also improved as the prime minister and finance minister called on Samsung Electronics' management and labor to sit again to resolve their sparring stance over a pay raise and bonus payments.

The two sides failed to narrow differences over sticky issues in overnight mediation talks.

"Eased risks at home and abroad helped the KOSPI turn around," Lee Kyung-min, an analyst at Daishin Securities, said. "Artificial intelligence (AI)-related stocks, such as Samsung Electronics, SK hynix and SK Square, led the uptick."

President Lee Jae Myung said in his social media that his chief policy adviser's recent viral post about redistributing profits from the AI boom was about a review of distributing surplus tax revenue, not a new levy on corporate profits.

On Tuesday, remarks by Seoul's presidential policy chief Kim Yong-beom on profit sharing of tech companies in the AI era weighed down on investor sentiment.

On Wednesday, semiconductor and auto shares were the biggest winners.

Samsung Electronics rose 1.79 percent to 284,000 won and SK hynix jumped 7.68 percent to 1.98 million won.

AI investment firm SK Square rose to 5.68 won to 1.19 million won and Samsung Electro-Mechanics, an electronics parts and module affiliate of Samsung Electronics, vaulted 7.41 percent to 1.03 million won.

Top carmaker Hyundai Motor surged 9.91 percent to 710,000 won and its sister Kia advanced 6.65 percent to 197,500 won.

Major retailer Shinsegae soared 9.29 percent to 482,500 won and Lotte Shopping added 5.54 percent to 160,100 won.

However, defense giant LIG D&A declined 0.68 percent to 873,000 won and leading banking group KB Financial Group lost 1.04 percent to 152,000 won.

Leading bio tech company Samsung Biologics decreased 2.29 percent to 1.41 million won and Celltrion dropped 1.45 percent to 190,500 won.

The Korean won was quoted at 1,490.6 won against the U.S. dollar at 3:30 p.m. The local currency had briefly touched the 1,499.9-won level during the day.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed higher. The yield on three-year Treasurys fell 3.9 basis points to 3.635 percent, while the return on the benchmark five-year government bonds dropped 1.7 basis points to 3.853 percent.

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