SEOUL — South Korea’s benchmark equity indexes posted strong gains during Thursday morning trading, brushing off overnight turmoil on Wall Street triggered by the sudden departure of NVIDIA Chief Executive Jensen Huang and rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.

As of 9:14 a.m. local time, the KOSPI climbed 153.70 points, or 2.88%, to 5,496.43. The index opened up 2.05% at 5,452.41 and briefly pierced the 5,500 threshold, hitting an intraday high of 5,504.44 (a 3.03% surge).

Foreign investors continued their buying streak for a fourth consecutive session, recording a net purchase of approximately 200 billion won ($143 million) on the main board, alongside institutional net buying of 50.6 billion won. Retail investors stood apart, net selling roughly 276 billion won.

Market sentiment had faced headwinds following an unexpected late-night announcement from NVIDIA’s board confirming that CEO Jensen Huang was stepping down immediately from his executive and board positions. Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President Colette Kress was appointed as interim CEO. The shock leadership shakeup, following recent personal scandals involving Huang, pressured global markets.

In New York, major Wall Street indices closed lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 0.36%, the S&P 500 lost 0.35%, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.39%. NVIDIA shares opened down over 13% before clawing back losses to close 4.34% lower. Wider AI supply chain fears dragged down memory makers like Micron Technology and SK Hynix’s American Depositary Receipts, while competitors such as AMD and Broadcom rallied on anticipated market share gains.

Simultaneously, a spike in crude oil prices—spurred by U.S. President Donald Trump's hardline social media remarks regarding Iran—further weighed on global sentiment. West Texas Intermediate futures jumped 2.55%, and Brent crude climbed 3.30%.

Despite these external headwinds, Seoul’s domestic tech heavyweights staged a robust rebound. Local semiconductor leaders Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix surged 3.37% and 4.70%, respectively, recovering from the previous session's slump. Other large-cap shares, including SK Square and Samsung Electro-Mechanics, posted solid gains, lifting the electrical and electronics sector by nearly 4%.

The secondary KOSDAQ index followed suit, gaining 2.93% to trade at 716.93 and successfully reclaiming the 700-point mark. Top-tier KOSDAQ listings, including secondary battery and robotics firms like EcoPro BM and Rainbow Robotics, traded higher amid steady domestic institutional and retail participation.

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