South Korean stocks rebounded nearly 6 percent on July 3 after a steep sell-off the previous day. Bargain buying in semiconductor shares drove the recovery.
The benchmark KOSPI gained 440.25 points, or 5.76 percent, to close at 8,088.34. The rebound followed a 7.89 percent plunge on July 2.
Samsung Electronics rose 8.22 percent to 309,500 won. SK hynix surged 10.88 percent to 2.42 million won.
The Korea Exchange activated a buy-side sidecar at around 1:50 p.m. after the KOSPI 200 Futures Index rose more than 5 percent. Program trading was halted for five minutes.
Institutions bought a net 4.46 trillion won. The Korean won strengthened to 1,525.6 won per U.S. dollar.
