The Kospi opened sharply higher on Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026, tracking gains on Wall Street after U.S. Treasury yields eased on plans to increase buybacks of longer-term government debt. The index rose 3.23% at the open and was up 197.28 points, or 3.05%, at 6,668.45 as of 9:15 a.m. It had plunged nearly 6% in the previous session amid technology-stock selling linked to concerns over rising bond yields. Chipmakers led Seoul’s recovery, with Samsung Electronics up 4.5% and SK hynix gaining 7.93% after announcing a 40 trillion won ($28.7 billion) share buyback for shareholder returns. SK Square rose 5.98%, while Samsung Electro-Mechanics fell 0.87%. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.22%, the S&P 500 rose 0.21% and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.16%. The 30-year U.S. Treasury yield, which had reached its highest level since 2007, fell along with the benchmark 10-year yield. The South Korean won weakened 0.2 won from the previous session to 1,389.3 per dollar.