SEOUL, January 16 (AJP) - South Korean stocks extended their historic advance on Friday, pushing the KOSPI up for an 11th consecutive session and underscoring a rally that has grown not only longer, but materially stronger than previous market upswings.
The benchmark index rose 0.9 percent to close at 4,840.7, marking a 13.8 percent gain since Jan.2 as the market continued to notch new highs with near-daily regularity entering the new year. The KOSDAQ added 0.4 percent to 954.6, while the KOSPI 200 climbed 1.2 percent to 794.6.
While the current run has yet to surpass the longest streak on record — 13 consecutive gains between Sept. 4 and 24, 2019 — the scale of the advance has already far exceeded it. The 2019 rally delivered a cumulative rise of about 6.9 percent, roughly half the magnitude of the present move, highlighting the unusually strong momentum underpinning this cycle.
Liquidity indicators suggest the rally is not yet being driven by aggressive leverage. Customer deposits, a proxy for idle equity capital, stood at approximately 893 trillion won ($607.5 billion) in mid-January, up more than 8 trillion won since the start of the year. The continued buildup, even as prices rise, has been interpreted as evidence that additional buying capacity remains on the sidelines.
At the same time, margin trading balances have increased only gradually, hovering near 283 trillion won, while equity fund assets expanded to roughly 2,240 trillion won. The pattern suggests that inflows are broadening into medium-term investment allocations, rather than being concentrated in short-term speculative trades.
The dollar was held steadily around 1,471 won. Despite the elevated level, intraday volatility was limited, easing immediate concerns about disorderly capital outflows.
Sector-wise, non-ferrous metal stocks led gains, driven by expectations that U.S. investment in mineral refining could accelerate supply-chain restructuring and elevate the strategic importance of the sector.
Korea Zinc jumped 10.2 percent to 1,585,000 won after reports that the company is considering building a large-scale smelting facility in Tennessee, potentially with U.S. policy backing. Market participants noted that such a move could strengthen the company’s long-term position in graphite, zinc and rare-metal supply.
Among individual names, NamSun Aluminum Preferred surged 30 percent to 18,210 won.
Large-cap stocks posted mixed results. Samsung Electronics rose 3.6 percent to 148,900 won after hitting an intraday record, while SK hynix added 1.0 percent to 756,000 won. Doosan Enerbility advanced 6.5 percent to 95,300 won, while Hyundai Motor slipped 2.0 percent to 414,000 won.
Elsewhere in the region, sentiment was more subdued. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.3 percent to 53,936.2, while China’s Shanghai Composite edged down 0.3 percent to 4,101.9.
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