SEOUL, November 20, 2025 – The KOSPI index soared past the 4,000-point threshold for the first time in three trading days, buoyed by the strong earnings report from Nvidia, the global leader in artificial intelligence (AI) stocks. The KOSPI closed at 4,004.85, marking a significant gain of 75.34 points (1.92%) from the previous session.
This rally is largely attributed to Nvidia’s record-breaking quarterly performance, which helped to dispel the recent "AI bubble" concerns. Nvidia announced a third-quarter revenue of $57.01 billion and an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.30, both exceeding market expectations of $54.92 billion and $1.25, respectively.
The market surge was primarily driven by foreign and institutional investors, who net-purchased shares worth 437.6 billion won and 807.6 billion won, respectively. Individual investors, however, remained net sellers, offloading 1.2788 trillion won worth of stock.
Most blue-chip stocks on the KOSPI experienced gains. Semiconductor giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix saw increases of 4.25% and 1.6%, respectively. Other market leaders also performed strongly, including LG Energy Solution (0.8%), HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (1.57%), Doosan Enerbility (4.44%), Hanwha Aerospace (1.22%), Celltrion (0.92%), and Naver (3.42%).
Nvidia’s robust performance, underscoring the resilience of the AI infrastructure market, led to a sharp rise in wire and cable stocks. Companies such as Daewon Cable (17.96%), LS ELECTRIC (6.53%), Gaon Cable (6.01%), Taihan Electric Wire (4.78%), and HD Hyundai Electric (4.09%) all surged.
Furthermore, stocks anticipating benefits from the return of Chinese tourists also climbed, with notable increases in Able C&C (16.61%), Lotte Tour Development (14.97%), Paradise (13.65%), CJ (8.3%), Tonymoly (7.19%), Jin Air (6.22%), and GKL (5.92%).
The smaller KOSDAQ index also posted a substantial gain, rising 20.62 points (2.37%) to close at 891.94. Foreign and institutional investors were net buyers on the KOSDAQ as well, recording net purchases of 180.6 billion won and 18.9 billion won, respectively, while individuals net-sold 130.7 billion won. Top-tier KOSDAQ stocks universally showed strength, including Alteogen (2.39%), Peptron (15.4%), Legochembio (2.42%), Sam Chun Dang Pharm. (2.99%), and Pharmaresearch (6.71%). CMTX, which newly listed on the KOSDAQ today, closed at 131,600 won, a surge of 117.52% from its initial public offering price.
In the Seoul foreign exchange market, the won-dollar exchange rate edged up 2.3 won from the previous day, closing the weekly session at 1,467.9 won.
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