Kospi Soars Past 6,000 Milestone, Just One Month After 5,000 Breakout
South Korea’s benchmark Kospi index surged past the 6,000 mark during Wednesday trading, continuing its rapid climb just one month after surpassing the 5,000 level.
The Kospi opened at 6,022.7, a gain of 53.06 points, or 0.89 percent, from the previous trading session. This marked the first time the index has exceeded 6,000 points.
The index extended its gains throughout the day, climbing above 6,100 points. Reaching an intraday high of 6,142.14, it stood at 6,138.58 as of 2 p.m., reflecting an increase of 168.94 points, or 2.83 percent, on the session.
This milestone comes approximately four months after the Kospi first broke the 4,000 barrier on October 27 of the previous year, and only a month after closing above 5,000 on January 27.
Driven by the positive market sentiment, the Kospi’s total market capitalization exceeded 5,000 trillion won ($3.5 trillion). As of 2 p.m., the combined market capitalization of all companies listed on the Kospi reached 5,049 trillion won.
This surge represents an increase of over 1,000 trillion won in just one month since the bourse first exceeded 4,000 trillion won on January 16.
The rally was largely fueled by semiconductor giants, mirroring overnight gains on Wall Street. Strength in artificial intelligence and semiconductor stocks bolstered the market as investors anticipated Nvidia’s earnings.
Chip industry leaders Samsung Electronics and SK hynix continued their strong performance, each reaching new record highs of 206,000 won and 1,038,000 won, respectively, just a day after hitting milestones of 200,000 won and 1,000,000 won.
As of 2 p.m., Samsung Electronics was trading at 205,500 won, up 3 percent, while SK hynix had increased by 2.39 percent to 1,028,000 won.
Retail investors, initially net buyers, shifted to profit-taking, selling off 47 billion won. Foreign investors sold 1.22 trillion won, while institutional investors were net buyers, purchasing shares worth 1.11 trillion won as of press time.
The secondary Kosdaq bourse did not reflect the Kospi’s gains, edging up only 0.18 percent to 1,167.14 as of 2 p.m. After opening 0.8 percent higher at 1,174.27, the index struggled to maintain its opening level as of press time.
Despite heavy foreign selling, the Korean won demonstrated moderate strength, quoted at 1,429.95 per dollar at 2 p.m., a strengthening of 11.6 won from the previous session. The won began onshore trading at 1,441.6 per dollar, slightly firmer than the previous close.
“The domestic stock market faced heightened policy uncertainty after the US Supreme Court ruled President Donald Trump’s ‘reciprocal’ tariffs unlawful, followed by his announcement of a new round of global tariffs,” said Lee Jae-man, an analyst at Hana Securities.
“Considering the increase in liquidity both at home and abroad, however, there still appears to be substantial room for further upside in the local stock market.”
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