South Korean shares reversed an early decline Monday as October exports climbed 93.7% from a year earlier, led by semiconductor shipments, putting the country's trade performance in focus for investors.
The benchmark KOSPI opened 1.62% lower at 5,637.77 before rising 1.37% to 5,809.06 by 8:10 p.m. ET Sunday (0110 UTC Monday), Korea Exchange data cited by Yonhap showed. Reuters said dip buying after the export figures helped drive the rebound. By 8:33 p.m. ET Sunday (0133 UTC Monday), the index was up 0.92% at 5,783.27, Aju Press reported. Reuters later put it at 5,750.23, up 0.34%, at 8:57 p.m. ET Sunday (0157 UTC Monday), showing the advance had narrowed.
Provisional Korea Customs Service data showed exports totaled $115.276 billion. Imports rose 36% to $72.775 billion, leaving a $42.5 billion trade surplus. October's figure was South Korea's second-highest monthly export total, behind September's $120.94 billion, and exports increased in 18 of the country's 20 main product categories, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources said.
Semiconductor shipments reached $56.44 billion, up 259.4% from a year earlier. The ministry linked the increase to continued investment by global technology companies in artificial intelligence infrastructure.
At 8:10 p.m. ET Sunday, institutions were net buyers of 464.4 billion won in shares, while individual investors sold a net 327.4 billion won and foreign investors sold 193.8 billion won, Yonhap reported, citing exchange data. Han Ji-young, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities, told Reuters that the market looked oversold and that the outlook for earnings was improving. The ministry said exports totaled about $930 billion from January through October and expected the full-year figure to reach $1 trillion in November.
