STOCKS | South Korean Market Surges as Samsung Resolves Labor Dispute

South Korea's stock market experienced a significant rise following Samsung Electronics' preliminary agreement with its labor union, which alleviated the threat of a strike at the world's largest memory chip manufacturer. According to Jin10, the benchmark KOSPI index surged by 6.4% on Thursday, with Samsung's stock price soaring nearly 7%. Competitor SK Hynix saw an increase of up to 8.4%. The Korea Exchange temporarily halted program trading for the KOSPI and the small-cap KOSDAQ indices after futures surged. Chip-related stocks also benefited from Nvidia's better-than-expected performance. Eugene Asset Management's Chief Investment Officer, Ha SeokKeun, commented that the preliminary agreement between labor and management is positive news as it reduces uncertainty. Additionally, Nvidia's earnings call highlighted the exceptionally strong demand for AI-driven memory, particularly high-bandwidth memory and advanced DRAM.