South Korea’s domestic financial market closed higher on Sept. 23, led by synchronized gains in large-cap semiconductor stocks as investors monitored global economic conditions and macroeconomic indicators. The KOSPI rose 63.01 points, or 0.90%, to 7,080.92 after moving above 7,150 shortly after the open, but surrendered part of its advance as investors took profits ahead of the Chuseok holiday and major central-bank monetary policy decisions. The KOSDAQ gained 8.21 points, or 0.98%, to 844.48. Institutions drove the KOSPI rally with net purchases of 421 billion won, while foreign investors recorded net sales of 504.7 billion won and retail investors made net purchases of 62 billion won. Samsung Electronics climbed 3.07% and accounted for more than half of the index’s gain, helped by news of a global next-generation memory supply contract, favorable earnings expectations and demand for artificial-intelligence semiconductors. SK hynix rose 1.25% as investors reassessed its High Bandwidth Memory competitiveness. The won-dollar exchange rate ended at 1,358.4 won, up 0.2 won, after trading as low as 1,354.0 won. The market’s next focus is expected to be earnings momentum at Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, alongside exchange-rate movements and external risks during the holiday period.