Seoul Brakes on Buying Again as KOSPI Jumps Nearly 5%. Will It Stick This Time?

South Korea’s KOSPI rose 4.87% from Monday’s close to 5,263.13 by 9:43 a.m. Seoul time on Tuesday. The jump forced the Korea Exchange to pause program buying for five minutes.

The curb, known as a buy-side sidecar, has fired several times since October 21. The US Consumer Price Index (CPI) report due Tuesday is the next test for this KOSPI rebound.

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Days After a Circuit Breaker, Seoul Hits the Buy Brake

The KOSPI opened 4.55% above Monday’s close at 5,247.22, Chosun reported, citing Korea Exchange data. The sidecar kicked in around 9:06 a.m., and the KOSDAQ’s sidecar followed about four minutes later.

SK Hynix stock led the chipmakers, rising 7.48% from Monday’s close to 1,221,000 won by 9:37 a.m. Samsung Electronics stock added 5.32% to 200,000 won.

The lift came from Wall Street, where the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rose 6.9% on Monday. Oil also fell after President Donald Trump played down the chance of renewed strikes on Iran.

However, recent trading data raises doubts about whether the rally can last. 

Seoul’s Last 2 Rebounds Ran Out of Road

The first rally came on October 21, when the KOSPI closed 3.29% higher at 5,735.66. Within two sessions, the index had given back the entire gain, BeInCrypto reported.

Back-to-back sidecars followed on October 27 and 28. SK Hynix’s record quarter lifted the KOSPI 6.63% to 6,012.44 on October 28, Korea JoongAng Daily reported.

That push didn’t last long. Samsung’s shareholder return plan disappointed investors on October 29, and the index slipped back below 6,000.

By November 5, the KOSPI had closed at 5,383.80, below where the late-October rally began. A day later, an 8% plunge tripped a circuit breaker.

Monday followed the same arc on a smaller scale. The KOSPI traded 1.52% higher by late morning, then closed 0.81% lower at 5,018.85.

The US CPI report lands later Tuesday. A hotter reading could lift rate-hike bets and weigh on growth stocks. That would show whether this sidecar rally can outlast the ones before it. 

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