Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix rose more than 3% in early South Korean trading on August 10 as weaker-than-expected US employment data eased concerns about further Federal Reserve tightening and added momentum to the artificial intelligence rally. By 9:10 a.m. KST, the Kospi had climbed 104.92 points, or 1.68%, to 6,363.69, led by retail net purchases of ₩194.7 billion, while foreign and institutional investors were net sellers of ₩156.6 billion and ₩43.4 billion. Samsung traded around ₩230,000, up 3%, SK Hynix advanced 3% to the ₩1.46 million range, and Samsung Electro-Mechanics surged 5%. The move followed the July 7 release of US nonfarm payrolls (monthly measure of US job creation), which fell by 23,000 from the previous month, far below the consensus forecast for an 85,000 increase. That shift pushed the implied probability of a pause at the September Federal Open Market Committee (Fed policy-setting body) meeting to 55.6%, ahead of the 44.4% chance of a hike for the first time in a month, according to the CME FedWatch Tool. Lower rate expectations can ease discount-rate pressure on growth stocks and reduce financing strain on Big Tech AI spending. The Kosdaq also gained 15.77 points, or 1.97%, to 814.58, with foreign and institutional investors net buying ₩38.6 billion and ₩9.9 billion and retail investors net selling ₩48.2 billion. Alteogen rose 6.39% to ₩320,000. In the United States, the Dow added 0.3%, the S&P 500 rose 0.6%, and the Nasdaq advanced 1.3% on July 7, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index gained 2.6% and Nvidia added 2.27%. Kiwoom Securities analyst Han Ji-young said upcoming earnings from TSMC, CoreWeave, Cisco, and Applied Materials could further ease concerns about an AI and memory cycle peak and improve conditions for foreign investors after roughly ₩5 trillion of net semiconductor selling last week. The MSCI Korea Index ETF rose 1.20% on July 7, and SK Hynix's American depositary receipts (US-traded share certificates) closed 3.92% lower, though the rebound in Seoul trading on August 10 narrowed that gap.