South Korea’s benchmark Kospi opened higher on the 6th and climbed above 7,000 for the first time in early trading.
According to the Korea Exchange, the Kospi stood at 7,195.92 as of 9:07 a.m., up 258.93 points, or 3.73%, from the previous session. It opened at 7,093.01, up 156.02 points, or 2.25%, and extended gains.
Han Ji-young, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, said the market could face “a pause for breath” for the rest of the week or short-term profit-taking by foreign investors. Still, Han said the Kospi’s earnings momentum has continued to strengthen after the first-quarter earnings season, while the absolute profit level and valuation burden are lower than on earlier net-buying days.
The early surge also triggered a “sidecar” curb for program buying for the first time in about a month. At 9:06:02 a.m., the Kospi 200 futures index jumped 66.05 points, or 6.28%, to 1,116.55, prompting a five-minute halt in the effectiveness of program buy orders.
In the main market, individuals and foreign investors were net buyers of 560.7 billion won and 314.2 billion won, respectively, helping lift the index. Institutions were net sellers of 707.9 billion won, appearing to take profits.
Among top market-cap stocks, Samsung Electronics rose 10.32%, SK hynix gained 9.19%, SK Square climbed 13.22%, Hyundai Motor added 3.53%, LG Energy Solution rose 0.64%, Doosan Enerbility gained 0.79% and Samsung Electro-Mechanics advanced 1.85%. Hanwha Aerospace fell 2.46% and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries slipped 3.24%.
Samsung Electronics and SK hynix jumped about 9% to 10% early, reaching 250,000 won and 1.6 million won, respectively.
At the same time, the Kosdaq index turned lower, down 12.25 points, or 1.01%, at 1,206.22. It opened up 7.16 points, or 0.59%, at 1,220.90, but gave up gains and moved into negative territory.
In the Kosdaq market, individuals were net buyers of 329.8 billion won, while foreign investors and institutions were net sellers of 164.7 billion won and 138.3 billion won, respectively.
Among top Kosdaq stocks, EcoPro BM rose 2.78%, EcoPro gained 1.28% and HLB added 0.66%. Alteogen fell 2.28%, Rainbow Robotics slipped 1.75%, Samchundang Pharm dropped 2.20%, Lino Industrial declined 2.48%, Kolon TissueGene fell 1.05%, ABL Bio slid 3.32% and LigaChem Bio dropped 2.64%.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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