South Korea’s benchmark Kospi rose to a fresh intraday high Tuesday, surpassing the previous record it set before the outbreak of the Iran war.
The index opened at 6,302.54, up 1.34 percent from the previous session. Shortly after the opening bell, it broke above its previous intraday high of 6,347.41 and touched as high as 6,355.39.
As of 9:20 a.m., the Kospi stood at 6,337.44, up 1.9 percent.
Foreign investors drove the rally, net buying 162.5 billion won ($110.5 million) worth of shares, while institutions added 47 billion won. Retail investors were net sellers, offloading 205.2 billion won.
Following the outbreak of the Iran war, the Kospi entered a volatile phase, falling as low as 5,042.99 during trading on March 31 as risk-averse sentiment weighed on the market. It has since staged a recovery this month, as risk appetite improved on hopes of easing geopolitical tensions.
Large-cap stocks led the gains, with Samsung Electronics rising 2.1 percent to 219,000 won and SK hynix advancing 3.86 percent to 1.21 million won. Shares of SK hynix surpassed the 1.2 million won mark for the first time.
Hyundai Motor gained 1.52 percent to 535,000 won, while LG Energy Solution surged 7.11 percent to 459,500 won.
silverstar@heraldcorp.com
