SEOUL, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- South Korean stocks rebounded Tuesday after suffering a massive sell-off in the previous day, showing a dramatic rollercoaster session that triggered a sidecar for the second consecutive day.
The benchmark KOSPI soared 338.41 points, or 6.84 percent, to hit a new closing high of 5,288.08, while the smaller KOSDAQ surged 45.97 points, or 4.19 percent, to finish at 1,144.33.
The KOSPI and the KOSDAQ plummeted 5.26 percent and 4.44 percent each in the previous day.
Bargain hunters focused on blue-chip stocks amid the diverged interpretations over the monetary policy stance of Kevin Warsh, who was nominated as the next chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve.
A buy-side sidecar was issued in early trading as the KOSPI 200 futures surged over 5 percent.
The sidecar refers to a temporary halt of program trading orders for five minutes that is triggered when the KOSPI 200 futures rise or fall by more than 5 percent to prevent panic buying or selling.
A sell-side sidecar was activated on Monday as the nomination of Warsh was seen as a signal for hawkish monetary policy in the United States.
Foreign and institutional investors purchased stocks in the main bourse KOSPI, while retail investors were net sellers in both the KOSPI and the KOSDAQ markets.
Blue-chip stocks led the rally. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics jumped 11.37 percent, and memory chip giant SK Hynix spiked 9.28 percent.
The country's top automaker Hyundai Motor advanced 2.82 percent, and the largest electric vehicle battery maker LG Energy Solution increased 2.89 percent.
The No. 1 biopharmaceutical contract manufacturer Samsung Biologics rose 2.22 percent, and the leading aerospace and defense company Hanwha Aerospace mounted 4.84 percent.
The biggest shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy Industries picked up 6.01 percent, and the energy infrastructure leader Doosan Enerbility was up 5.80 percent. ■