South Korean stocks staged a sharp reversal on Oct. 1, the first trading day of October and the fourth quarter. The KOSPI fell to 6,765.06 points after opening at 6,814.49, pressured by foreign and institutional selling, but turned higher from 11 a.m. as foreign investors bought Samsung Electronics and SK hynix following Micron Technology's stronger-than-expected earnings and outlook. The KOSPI finished at 6,971.35, up 133.31 points, or 1.95%, its first rebound in four trading days and within sight of 7,000. The KOSDAQ rose 4.48% to 894.29, led by semiconductor materials, parts and equipment companies and pharmaceutical and biotechnology stocks. Foreign investors still recorded 547.20 billion won in net selling on the KOSPI, while institutions bought 334.5 billion won and individuals sold 1.4306 trillion won. In the KOSDAQ, foreigners and institutions bought 229.6 billion won and 568.1 billion won, respectively, while individuals sold 777.8 billion won. Samsung Electronics gained 2.79% to 276,000 won and SK hynix rose 3.21% to 1,833,000 won. The dollar rose 5.6 won to 1,358.4 won, although its advance was capped by the stock-market rebound and foreign inflows. Securities analysts said Micron's results strengthened expectations for domestic semiconductor earnings and that selective buying of semiconductors and companies with improving, visible earnings could support the fourth-quarter market.