Samsung Electronics bucked the trend of plummeting U.S. semiconductor stocks overnight, closing higher on the Korean exchange. Foreign investors bolstered the stock price by net purchasing nearly $750 million worth of Samsung shares.
The Korea Exchange reported on Wednesday that Samsung Electronics finished trading at about $112, up around $3.23 or 2.96% from the previous day’s close.
Investor sentiment took a hit overnight due to escalating tensions between the U.S. and the EU over Greenland, leading to a significant drop in semiconductor stocks on Wall Street on Tuesday.
As a result, Samsung Electronics initially dipped to 1approximately $106 early in the session but quickly rebounded as strong bargain-hunting emerged.
The market received a boost when global investment bank Citi raised its price target for SanDisk, signaling structural improvements in the NAND flash market.
Further buoying investor confidence was the news that semiconductor exports surged by 70.2% year-on-year from January 1 to 20.
Foreign investors led the charge, net purchasing about $730 million worth of Samsung Electronics shares. Institutional investors also joined in, net buying about $47.55 million, while individual investors took profits, net selling about $915.6 million.
Samsung Electronics topped the list of foreign investors’ net purchases. When including preferred shares of about $110.4 million, the total net purchase by foreign investors exceeded $750 million.
In related news, SK Hynix closed at about $555, down about $2.25 or 0.40%. The stock touched lows in the about $540 range during the session but pared some of its losses by the close.