South Korea's KOSPI index intraday gain expanded to 2%, with SK Hynix rising 4.5%.

According to Bitget market data, South Korea’s KOSPI index opened higher and trended upward this Monday, with its intraday gain expanding to 2%. SK Hynix rose 4.5%, while Samsung gained 2.81%. On the news front, Bank of America forecasts that Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix will announce specific shareholder return plans as follows: For Samsung Electronics, Bank of America expects the firm to return 50% of its free cash flow to shareholders, mainly including: a special dividend of over 30 trillion won to be distributed in either the third or fourth quarter; share buybacks of more than 40 trillion won in the first half of 2027; and a 30 trillion won year-end dividend to be paid in April 2027. In addition, Samsung Electronics will conduct an extra share buyback of over 30 trillion won for employee compensation. For SK Hynix, Bank of America also projects it will return 50% of its free cash flow to shareholders, with a higher proportion allocated to share buybacks than cash dividends: the chipmaker is expected to repurchase more than 40 trillion won worth of shares and distribute cash dividends exceeding 20 trillion won.