The Seoul stock market’s benchmark Kospi index surged past the 8,000-point mark for the first time on Friday, propelled by vigorous retail investor activity during the session’s opening hours.
As of 9:23 a.m. local time, the Kospi index was trading robustly at approximately 8,034, extending its impressive gains after initially breaching the significant 8,000 milestone within just 14 minutes of market open.
This historic market milestone follows Thursday’s close, where the index had recorded a new high of 7,981.41, just 18.59 points shy of the 8,000-point threshold.
Retail investors were the primary drivers of this stock market rally, consistent with their strong buying trend throughout the week. They accumulated over 700 billion won (approximately $467.6 million) in net purchases within the initial 15 minutes of trading. In contrast, foreign investors divested a comparable amount, while institutional investors recorded net purchases of around 15 billion won.
The benchmark index has demonstrated remarkable momentum, surging by 1,000 points in a mere seven trading days since first hitting the 7,000-point level intraday on May 7.
Individual investors have consistently been the dominant force propelling the Kospi’s ascent, even as foreign investors have engaged in significant selling of Korean stocks since May 7. Data from the Korea Exchange indicates overseas investors have collectively offloaded a net 27 trillion won during this seven-session period.
In related market news, the Kosdaq index, representing technology and growth stocks, opened 0.52 percent higher at 1,197.23 before settling to trade around 1,186 shortly thereafter.
Concurrently, the Korean won opened notably weaker against the US dollar, depreciating by 3.2 won to trade at 1,494.2 won. This currency movement reflects increasing apprehension regarding global inflation trends.
