South Korea’s benchmark Kospi briefly climbed above 7,500 early Thursday, setting another intraday record.
According to the Korea Exchange, the Kospi was up 52.22 points, or 0.71%, at 7,436.78 as of 9:07 a.m. It opened at 7,499.07, up 114.51 points (1.55%) from the previous session, then extended gains and touched 7,500 shortly after the bell.
Brokerages said profit momentum led by semiconductors and foreign investor flows were supporting further upside.
Han Ji-young, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, said the Kospi still has room to rise, led by market bellwethers such as chipmakers, as “the sustainability of foreigners’ ‘buy Korea’ trend — with net buying in the 6 trillion won range since May — is unfolding alongside improving profit momentum.”
In trading flows, retail investors stood out as net buyers. Individuals bought a net 4.0082 trillion won in the main market, helping lift the index. Foreigners and institutions, meanwhile, sold a net 2.8396 trillion won and 1.2019 trillion won, respectively, in what appeared to be profit-taking.
Most large-cap shares were higher, including Samsung Electronics (up 1.88%), SK hynix (0.81%), SK Square (1.01%), Hyundai Motor (5.64%), Doosan Enerbility (7.17%) and Samsung Electro-Mechanics (0.33%). LG Energy Solution fell 1.24%, while Hanwha Aerospace slid 3.07% and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries dropped 4.01%.
The Kosdaq turned lower. As of the same time, the tech-heavy index was down 2.90 points, or 0.24%, at 1,207.27. It opened up 0.66 point (0.05%) at 1,210.83 but gave up gains and moved into negative territory.
In the Kosdaq market, foreigners and institutions were net buyers of 57.8 billion won and 24.8 billion won, respectively, while individuals were net sellers of 73.5 billion won.
Moves among top Kosdaq stocks were mixed. EcoPro BM rose 1.75%, Alteogen gained 0.55%, Kolon TissueGene jumped 8.78%, ABL Bio added 1.18% and LigaChem Bio climbed 2.49%. EcoPro fell 1.97%, Rainbow Robotics slipped 1.14%, Samchundang Pharm dropped 1.35% and Lino Industrial declined 1.29%.
Overnight, U.S. stocks ended higher on expectations for negotiations to end the war between the United States and Iran. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.46% and 2.02%, respectively, to record highs, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.24%.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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