KOSPI edged higher but failed to reclaim the 6,300 level, Monday, while the Kosdaq surged more than 6 percent to close above 850.

The benchmark KOSPI closed 0.65 percent higher at 6,299.66 after opening up 0.33 percent, snapping a two-session losing streak.

Foreign investors sold a net 1.5 trillion won ($1.06 billion) of shares, while retail and institutional investors bought a net 899.8 billion won and 567.4 billion won, respectively.

SK hynix fell 0.14 percent to 1,420,000 won, while Samsung Electronics declined 0.43 percent to 230,000 won.

U.S. nonfarm payrolls fell by 23,000 in July, compared with market expectations for a gain of 100,000. The weak reading eased concerns about further interest rate increases and supported demand for riskier assets.

Sentiment toward chipmakers remained fragile, however, following reports that Apple was considering using memory chips from China’s CXMT.

Hopes for renewed U.S.-Iran talks also faded. U.S. President Donald Trump said he would be willing to end the war without a nuclear agreement with Iran if freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz is guaranteed. Iran, meanwhile, raised its conditions for reopening the strait.

"We expect KOSPI to stage a root-shaped recovery from August," said Kim Doo-un, an analyst at Hana Securities. "Foreign fund flows and investor sentiment have yet to recover, but valuations have fallen to crisis-like levels even as earnings expectations have improved. At the same time, upward pressure on U.S. interest rates is easing."

While large-cap chipmakers remained under pressure, semiconductor materials, components and equipment shares outperformed, helping fuel a Kosdaq rally.

Kosdaq jumped 6.97 percent to 854.47 after opening 2.23 percent higher. A buy-side sidecar was triggered at 9:50 a.m. as gains accelerated, marking the third such activation in August.

Analysts said the rally was largely driven by a rebound from oversold levels. After trading above 800 on July 15, the index fell more than 150 points over the following nine sessions, drawing bargain hunters.

Tighter restrictions on single-stock leveraged exchange-traded funds tracking Samsung Electronics and SK hynix were also cited as supporting demand.

The Korean currency weakened slightly, with the exchange rate closing at 1,418.4 won per dollar, up 2.3 won from the previous session.