South Korea’s stock market closed at an all-time high Thursday, with semiconductor shares powering the benchmark Kospi above the 3,500-point threshold for the first time, just before the nation enters a rare weeklong holiday.
The Kospi finished at 3,549.21, up 2.7 percent or 93.38 points from the previous session, according to the Korea Exchange. The index opened at 3,525.48 and maintained the momentum to stay above both its previous record close of 3,486.19 set on Sept. 23 and its former intraday high of 3,497.95 from Sept. 24, climbing as high as 3,565.96 during trading.
Investors poured into South Korean equities following a rally in US tech stocks, brushing off concerns over a partial US government shutdown. Foreign investors led the surge, purchasing more than 1.36 trillion won ($971 million) in Korean shares on the main bourse, while institutions sold a net 1.74 trillion won. Retail investors added another 412.8 billion won in net buying.
The sharpest gains came from semiconductor giants. SK hynix soared 9.86 percent to 395,500 won. It surpassed 400,000 won for the first time earlier in the morning. Samsung Electronics climbed 3.49 percent to 89,000 won.
“This is effectively a ‘semiconductor day’ in Korea’s market, with foreign inflows driving the Kospi above 3,500 for the first time ever,” said Kim Seok-hwan, an analyst at Mirae Asset Securities, in a note published Thursday morning.
The rally mirrors strong performances on Wall Street overnight. The S&P 500 rose 0.34 percent to close at 6,711.2, hitting new intraday and closing highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.09 percent and the Nasdaq composite climbed 0.42 percent. Intel jumped more than 7 percent and Oracle added 2.76 percent, helping push US indices to new milestones despite the federal shutdown.
Korea's secondary Kosdaq index also ended higher, gaining 1.05 percent, or 8.91 points, to close at 854.25.
The gains come ahead of a national “golden holiday” stretching from Friday to Oct. 9, during which Korean markets will be closed.
mjh@heraldcorp.com
