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Kospi climbs above 3,600 points following Samsung earnings report

Published: 14 Oct. 2025, 10:05

Staff work at a dealing room at a Hana Bank branch in central Seoul's Jung District on Oct. 14. [YONHAP]

The Kospi regained the 3,600 mark on Tuesday, buoyed by Samsung Electronics’ stronger-than-expected third-quarter earnings.

The benchmark index opened at 3,604.12, up 19.57 points, or 0.55 percent, from the previous session. As of 9:19 a.m., the index had climbed 43.26 points, or 1.21 percent, to 3,627.81. Earlier in the session, it touched 3,646.77, setting a new intraday record high. The previous intraday record was 3,617.86, set on Friday.

Samsung Electronics’ earnings release appeared to be the main driver of the rally.

The tech giant announced Tuesday that it posted 86 trillion won ($60 billion) in revenue and 12.1 trillion won in operating profit in the third quarter on a consolidated basis. Compared to the same period last year, revenue rose 8.72 percent and operating profit rose 31.81 percent. The results exceeded market expectations, as the average forecast compiled by market tracker FnGuide had projected 84.12 trillion won in revenue and 10.14 trillion won in operating profit. It is also the first time Samsung Electronics’ quarterly revenue surpassed the 80-trillion-won threshold.

Shares of Samsung Electronics opened up 1.82 percent, while SK hynix gained 2.77 percent.

The office of Samsung Electronics in southern Seoul [YONHAP]

The rally also reflected momentum from a sharp rebound in major U.S. stock indexes overnight. On Monday local time, the New York Stock Exchange surged on news of a large-scale deal between OpenAI and Broadcom. The S&P 500 closed up 1.56 percent, while the Nasdaq composite climbed 2.21 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 587.98 points, or 1.29 percent, to 46,067.58.

U.S. President Donald Trump also helped ease market jitters. On his social media platform Truth Social, Trump wrote, "Don’t worry about China, it will all be fine!" adding, "Highly respected President Xi just had a bad moment. He doesn’t want depression for his country, and neither do I. The U.S.A. wants to help China, not hurt it!!!"

The statement led markets to believe that trade tensions between the United States and China may ease.

Just days earlier, on Friday, Trump had caused a market sell-off by criticizing China’s rare earth export controls and threatening to impose 100 percent tariffs.

As of press time, retail and foreign investors have net bought 284.4 billion won and 3.1 billion won in Kospi stocks, respectively, while institutions have net sold 302.7 billion won.

The Kosdaq index is also up, rising 8.41 points, or 0.98 percent, to 868.90. It opened at 865.37, up 0.57 percent. Foreign and institutional investors have net sold 51.9 billion won and 11.3 billion won, respectively, while retail investors have net purchased 60.9 billion won.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY CHO MUN-GYU [[email protected]]