South Korea’s KOSPI traded near 6,960 after opening lower, briefly falling to 6,927 before climbing as high as 6,995.19 and attempting to reclaim 7,000. Retail investors bought shares while institutions and foreign investors sold, with Samsung Electronics fluctuating around breakeven after completing purchases of 53.8 million treasury shares, taking its cumulative buyback rate since August to 100.96%. SK hynix gained as much as 1.48% before settling about 0.5% higher, although foreign investors sold both semiconductor stocks. Analysts said profit-taking and concerns about U.S. Treasury yields ahead of the National Foundation Day holiday were competing with demand for artificial-intelligence and semiconductor shares following Micron’s strong results. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield reached 5.342%, its highest since April 3, 2002, while dovish Federal Reserve comments moderated expectations for further rate increases. Analysts said a slowdown in hiring in the U.S. employment report released on the 2nd could ease tightening concerns, while Samsung’s preliminary results next week are expected to shape views on the third-quarter earnings cycle. The KOSDAQ rose above 900 for the first time in about three months, since July 2, reaching an intraday high of 903.88 as major stocks including Alteogen, EcoPro, EcoPro BM, Jusung Engineering and Rainbow Robotics advanced.