Chips Lead, Foreigners Push — KOSPI Near 6,579

Right after the open, the KOSPI is running at 6,579.04, up 3.68%, while the KOSDAQ sits at 858.91, up a modest 0.12%. Big semiconductor names like Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are leading the charge, with foreigners piling over 2.8 trillion won into KOSPI to add fuel. Compared to the last brief at 15:10, the gain actually shrank a bit (-0.28pp), but foreign buying got even bigger (up 27,819 hundred-million won) — so the appetite hasn't cooled, the index is just catching its breath for a second. Overnight in the US, CPI came in as expected and eased rate worries, but buying stayed concentrated in AI names, leaving Wall Street mixed (8/12 close: S&P +0.26%, Nasdaq +0.54%) — today's KOSPI seems to be riding only the semiconductor-rally piece of that move. My book is holding Microsoft +24.6%, NVIDIA +5.5%, Freeport-McMoRan +10.5%, and Poongsan +18.5%, and I'll be watching whether this chip-driven strength holds through the close.