The KOSPI surged Monday on heavy buying by foreign investors and institutions, climbing to just shy of the 7,000 mark and posting a record closing high. The benchmark jumped more than 5% to finish above 6,900.
According to the Korea Exchange, the KOSPI closed up 338.12 points, or 5.12%, at 6,936.99. It opened at 6,782.93, up 184.06 points, or 2.79%, and extended gains as foreign and institutional demand strengthened.
The index also reset an intraday record. It moved above 6,800 at about 10:16 a.m. and later broke through 6,900 at about 12:57 p.m. as buying accelerated.
Lee Kyung-min, an analyst at Daishin Securities, said the KOSPI has continued to rally as stronger earnings momentum and what he called attractive undervaluation have come into focus. He added that local stocks reflected gains in U.S. markets during the May 1 holiday, while foreign net buying expanded ahead of the May 5 holiday, adding to the market’s upward momentum.
In the main board market, foreigners were net buyers of 3.9623 trillion won and institutions bought a net 2.5569 trillion won. Retail investors sold a net 6.3364 trillion won.
Among top market-cap stocks, Samsung Electronics rose 5.44%, SK hynix gained 12.52%, SK Square jumped 17.84%, LG Energy Solution added 2.50%, Hyundai Motor rose 1.51%, Doosan Enerbility gained 0.08% and Hanwha Aerospace climbed 3.39%. HD Hyundai Heavy Industries fell 0.73%.
SK hynix traded as high as 1.45 million won during the session, setting a record. Samsung Electronics, which had slipped on profit-taking after touching 230,000 won on April 30, rebounded in a single session to as high as 232,500 won.
The KOSDAQ closed up 21.39 points, or 1.79%, at 1,213.74 after opening at 1,212.28, up 19.93 points, or 1.67%.
In the KOSDAQ market, foreigners bought a net 613.9 billion won. Retail investors and institutions sold a net 520.5 billion won and 76.1 billion won, respectively.
Among KOSDAQ heavyweights, EcoPro rose 1.90%, EcoPro BM gained 4.61%, Alteogen added 1.22%, Rainbow Robotics rose 3.16%, Lino Industrial gained 1.26%, Kolon TissueGene climbed 2.75% and HLB added 0.16%. Samchundang Pharm fell 1.44% and ABL Bio slipped 1.71%.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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