The KOSPI closed at 7,017.91 on September 22, up 0.15%, after rising 2.20% at the open and briefly breaking above 7,100. Individual and institutional investors sold a combined 1.9119 trillion Korean won, while foreign investors were the only net buyers, purchasing 257.1 billion Korean won. Overnight gains in AI-related stocks lifted the Nasdaq to a record high, while positive attention around Meta's personal AI agent Muse helped drive Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix 2% to 3% higher early in the session. Samsung ended little changed and SK Hynix fell 1.50% as domestic demand weakened. South Korea's announcement of a confirmed gas-fired combined cycle power plant in Texas as its first U.S. investment project, alongside ongoing negotiations over eight nuclear plants and Alaska LNG development, lifted nuclear-related shares. Analysts said a rebound in WTI crude oil futures from $91, after an earlier decline linked to possible U.S.-Iran talks, weighed on the market and contributed to the strong-start, weak-finish pattern. The KOSDAQ also reversed early gains, closing at 834.38, down 0.23%.