In brief
On November 3, 2026, Seoul’s main market opened higher, with the benchmark KOSPI jumping 2.43% to 5,786.13 and the KOSDAQ climbing 11.35 points to 715.74, driven by gains in tech shares. While Yonhap reported the upbeat opening, a source from BigGo Finance cited a closing decline tied to concerns over artificial intelligence spending, illustrating differing market narratives. Overall, the rally reflects heightened investor focus on how U.S. election outcomes could impact technology policy, especially under President Donald Trump’s agenda.
On Thursday, November 3, 2026, Seoul’s main stock exchange opened sharply higher, with investors leaning on a surge in technology shares as the U.S. mid‑term election approached, according to Yonhap. The opening session saw the benchmark KOSPI rise 137.34 points, or 2.43 percent, to 5,786.13, while the KOSDAQ climbed 11.35 points to 715.74.
Yonhap's reporting noted that the rally was largely powered by gains in tech stocks, and that the equity outlook was tempered by expectations that the U.S. election could reshape President Donald Trump's policy agenda, particularly on technology regulation and investment.
In a similarly framed piece, Yonhap labeled the event as URGENT, emphasizing that the KOSPI and KOSDAQ rises were mirrored across the market and signaling optimism for global equity markets as investors anticipated favourable U.S. election outcomes.
By contrast, an earlier note purportedly from BigGo Finance issued a conflicting view. The source, albeit currently inaccessible via a 404 page, offered a brief headline suggesting that the KOSPI had closed down 3.59 percent at 5,648.79, citing “AI funding concerns and regulatory risk converge” as the underlying reason for the downturn. This position signals a possible divergence in market performance between opening and closing, and frames AI as a cautionary factor for investors.
The Jakarta Post’s business section published a broader regional perspective, noting that Asian stocks overall were retreating ahead of the U.S. midterms and that oil prices steadied. While the piece did not specify the South Korean indices, its tone suggests a wider nervousness in Asian markets, potentially influencing the initial rally in Seoul as traders sought diversified exposure.
Alon Kow, a market analyst in Seoul, observed that “tech-based companies had a strong influence on the opening gains,” noting that the performance of chip makers on Wall Street — the Nasdaq rising 0.83 percent and the S&P 500 up 0.36 percent — echoed in Korean shares. He further added that the positive sentiment reflected anticipation of “potentially favourable policy changes” from the U.S. if the election outcome tilted toward the current administration.
Given the contrasting reports from Yonhap and the BigGo Finance narrative, investors are currently weighing conflicting signals: an opening rally that underscores technology’s resilience, juxtaposed with a closing decline tied to AI spending fears. Whether the market’s overall trajectory will remain upward in the days following the U.S. election remains to be seen, but the current episode underlines how cross‑border political developments can move domestic equity markets in divergent ways.
