South Korea’s benchmark Kospi surged to a new record high Wednesday, as the Korea–US summit fueled anticipation of a potential trade deal between Seoul and Washington.
The Kospi closed at 4,081.15, up 70.74 points, or 1.76 percent, from the previous session, marking its highest-ever finish.
The index opened at 4,061.54 but soon retreated to as low as 4,014.84, dragged down by profit-taking. It returned to positive territory around 2 p.m. and climbed to its record intraday high of 4,084.09 before ending slightly lower.
Market bellwethers Samsung Electronics and SK hynix gained 1.01 percent and 7.1 percent, respectively. LG Energy Solution and Doosan Enerbility each ticked up 0.78 percent and 11.57 percent. Samsung Biologics and Hanwha Aerospace were the only two among the top 10 stocks to inch down, shedding 0.89 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively.
The rally was led by institutional investors, who poured in 640 billion won ($445 million) on the main bourse. In contrast, retail and foreign investors each dumped 361 billion won and 227 billion won on the bourse.
The gains were largely attributed to growing expectations for trade negotiations between Seoul and Washington amid the 2025 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation CEO Summit.
During the opening remarks at the summit, US President Donald Trump mentioned cooperation between the two countries in the shipbuilding sector, among other areas.
silverstar@heraldcorp.com
