Korea Today.zip Nov 2: KOSPI Rebounds 2.2%, POSCO Holdings Profit Jumps 48%

South Korea's main stock index, the KOSPI, climbed 2.24% on Monday, November 2, 2026, the first trading day of the month. Steelmaker POSCO Holdings reported a 48% jump in preliminary third-quarter operating profit, SK Square raised its shareholder payout target, Samsung SDS started building an AI data center, and the plan to shorten Korea's stock settlement cycle was pushed back by about a year.

All won amounts are converted at about 1,341 won per US dollar, the rate shown on the afternoon of November 2 (Korea time).

KOSPI closes up 2.24% at 5,859

The KOSPI, an index of stocks listed on Korea's main board, closed at 5,859.08, up 128.34 points. The KOSDAQ, Korea's junior market with many smaller tech and biotech firms, rose 1.37% to 734.33.

The KOSPI opened more than 1% lower but turned higher during the morning session. Domestic institutions bought a net 1.84 trillion won (about $1.4 billion) of KOSPI shares, while individual investors and foreign investors were net sellers, according to end-of-day figures from a market data provider.

POSCO Holdings: steel up, lithium down

POSCO Holdings, the parent of Korea's largest steelmaker, reported preliminary third-quarter operating profit of 945 billion won (about $705 million), up 48% from a year earlier, on revenue of 19.14 trillion won.

The gain came from steel. The steel company POSCO raised its operating profit from 274 billion won in the second quarter to 455 billion won in the third, as higher selling prices, increased production and sales, and lower costs offset rising raw material costs. The battery materials business went the other way, swinging to an operating loss of 17 billion won as lithium and metal prices fell, the won strengthened against the dollar, and harsh winter weather and equipment repairs cut output at its lithium operation in Argentina. POSCO Holdings shares rose 3.47% to 283,000 won.

Quick definition: Preliminary earnings are figures a company releases before its outside auditor finishes reviewing them. They come out before the audited quarterly report.

SK Square raises its payout target

SK Square, the investment holding company that owns a large stake in memory chipmaker SK hynix, said it plans to return at least 60% of its recurring dividend income to shareholders through 2028. Its policy announced in March had set the floor at 30%.

The company expects to receive at least 6.2 trillion won (about $4.6 billion) in dividends from SK hynix this year. SK Square said it plans to pass 100% of that special dividend income on to its own shareholders. The exact size, method and timing will be decided after its 2026 financial statements are finalized. SK Square shares rose 5.91% to 950,000 won.

Samsung SDS builds an AI data center

Samsung SDS, the IT services arm of the Samsung group, said it has started building a data center dedicated to AI in Gumi, an industrial city in southeastern Korea. The site covers about 46,000 square meters (roughly 14,000 pyeong). It will start with 60 megawatts of power capacity and is designed so it can expand in stages to 120 megawatts. Construction has been under way since the city approved it in late August, and completion is planned for the end of 2028.

The center will use hybrid cooling that combines air and liquid cooling for high-heat GPU servers. Besides running its own GPUs, Samsung SDS will offer colocation, where customers install their own GPUs in the facility. The company called it the first result of Samsung's plan, announced in July, to invest about 60 trillion won in the southeastern Yeongnam region.

Korea delays its T+1 settlement switch

In Korea, cash from a stock sale currently arrives two business days after the trade (T+2). Four market institutions, including the Korea Exchange (KRX) and the Korea Securities Depository, said the move to next-day settlement (T+1) could happen as early as the second half of 2028, about a year later than the original target of October 2027.

They said about 600 institutions, mostly brokerages, must finish their systems at the same time, and that foreign and institutional investors need time to prepare for tighter funding and overnight currency conversion. Some brokerages have begun cutting interest rates on loans backed by stock sale proceeds, while installment settlement for institutions is planned for the first half of 2027. If the switch happens in 2028, it will be the first change since T+2 was adopted in 1972.

What connects the day's corporate and market stories

These announcements describe different stages of how money moves through the economy. POSCO Holdings reported operating earnings from businesses already running. SK Square described how dividend income received by a holding company could be passed to its own shareholders. Samsung SDS described investment in capacity expected to become available later. The settlement discussion concerns when cash and securities change hands after a trade. None of those is interchangeable with the day's change in a share price.

SK Square's 60% floor applies to recurring dividend income, not to 60% of its market value or every item of profit. Likewise, T+1 refers to a business-day settlement cycle, not a rule that every sale's cash arrives within 24 clock hours. Keeping the base of each percentage and the definition of each timeline clear makes the briefing useful beyond the headline numbers.

Key takeaways

The KOSPI shrugged off a weak open to gain 2.24%. POSCO Holdings showed steel carrying the group while lithium slipped into a loss, and SK Square promised to hand more of its SK hynix dividends to shareholders. Samsung SDS is building an AI data center in Gumi, while the switch to next-day settlement could happen as early as the second half of 2028.

Source: POSCO Holdings, SK Square