South Korea’s KOSPI rebounds as foreign buying returns but closes up 0.74%

South Korea’s KOSPI pushed back above 7,000 on July 23, rising 4.17% to 7,081.21 as technology shares extended their rebound after strong Alphabet results and renewed optimism over AI infrastructure demand. The move marked a fresh test of a level the benchmark failed to hold a day earlier, when it pared a sharp intraday rally and closed up 0.74% at 6,797.70. Alphabet reported second-quarter revenue of $119.8 billion, up 24% from a year earlier, while Google Cloud grew 82%. The company also raised its capital spending forecast, reinforcing expectations for continued spending on AI-related infrastructure. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, the KOSPI’s two largest constituents, led gains as both extended last week’s rebound from an earlier AI-driven selloff. The advance came even as rising oil prices and lingering Iran-related tension around the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping route, limited risk appetite. It also followed a note maintaining Citi’s 10,000 target for the KOSPI, which analysts said implied more than 50% upside from levels seen earlier this week. Citi described the recent pullback as a potential buying opportunity driven by technical profit-taking rather than deteriorating fundamentals. The KOSPI has fallen as much as 28% from its June record high, leaving it in a technical bear market and triggering multiple circuit breakers and sidecars this year. Whether the latest rebound can endure remains uncertain after Wednesday’s reversal at the same threshold highlighted how quickly gains can fade.