AI News Feed
Market watch
WeChat HarmonyOS Edition Marks Two Years as Installs Top 85 MillionHollys says 2.76 million pieces of customer data leaked in cyberattackAnthropic Replaces Git With Scion as AI Code Strains Engineering ToolchainSeoul shares end higher on institutional buying amid AI investment concernsProsecutors Say OpenAI Bugging Suspect Was in Touch With Saudi Royal Before ArrestUgreen preps HomeAgent AI NAS line, HA100 early-bird at $799
WeChat HarmonyOS Edition Marks Two Years as Installs Top 85 MillionHollys says 2.76 million pieces of customer data leaked in cyberattackAnthropic Replaces Git With Scion as AI Code Strains Engineering ToolchainSeoul shares end higher on institutional buying amid AI investment concernsProsecutors Say OpenAI Bugging Suspect Was in Touch With Saudi Royal Before ArrestUgreen preps HomeAgent AI NAS line, HA100 early-bird at $799
Markets

Seoul shares end higher on institutional buying amid AI investment concerns

Seoul's KOSPI closed up 1.76% as institutions bought shares, while the won hit a two-year high and investors weighed returns on heavy AI spending.

AI News Feed · 2026-10-19 16:41

The benchmark KOSPI opened 3.17 percent lower but closed up 99.96 points, or 1.76 percent, at 5,768.01, after falling as low as 5,488.41. Institutions bought a net 574.66 billion won ($432 million) of shares. Foreign investors sold a net 37.87 billion won, and retail investors sold a net 1.09 trillion won.

Investors also stayed cautious ahead of earnings reports this week from Tesla and Meta Platforms and the Nov. 3 U.S. midterm elections, with uncertainty over the interest rate outlook, analysts said. 'Some investors appear to have bought large-cap stocks in search of bargains following sharp declines in recent weeks, helping the index move into positive territory despite reservations centered on massive spending on AI infrastructure,' IBK Securities said.

Tech stocks contributed to the gains. Samsung Electronics rose 1.16 percent to 218,000 won, and SK hynix climbed 0.39 percent to 1.28 million won. Hyundai Motor jumped 4.49 percent to 326,000 won, and Hanwha Aerospace advanced 1.91 percent to 905,000 won. HD Hyundai Heavy Industries fell 1.71 percent to 345,500 won, and Hanwha Ocean declined 1.23 percent to 64,200 won.

The won was quoted at 1,330.3 per dollar at 3:30 p.m., up 1.1 won from the previous stock trading session's close. It touched 1,327.6 during afternoon trading, the strongest level since Oct. 2, 2024, driven by dollar sales by local exporters and foreign institutional investors. Foreign investors sold a net 37.8 billion won ($28.3 million) of local shares in the latest regular session. With the dollar-won rate hovering around 1,330 in recent sessions, Finance Minister Lee Hyoung-il told reporters last Friday that the exchange rate was 'falling into line' with South Korea's economic fundamentals.

Bond prices closed lower, with yields moving inversely. The three-year Treasury yield rose 2.3 basis points to 3.877, and the benchmark five-year government bond yield climbed 2.6 basis points to 4.014.