A financial data screen at Hana Bank’s dealing room in central Seoul shows the Kospi surpassing the 7,500-point mark at 7,516.05 Thursday. (Yoon Chang-bin/The Korea Herald)
A financial data screen at Hana Bank’s dealing room in central Seoul shows the Kospi surpassing the 7,500-point mark at 7,516.05 Thursday. (Yoon Chang-bin/The Korea Herald)

The South Korean benchmark Kospi topped the 7,500-point mark for the first time in intraday trading Thursday, extending gains from the previous session.

The index opened at 7,499.07, up 1.55 percent from the previous close, after surging past the 7,400 threshold for the first time with a 6 percent jump Wednesday.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Kospi climbed past the 7,500 mark and as high as 7,531.88 before trimming gains. It later stood at 7,448.27, up 0.86 percent on the session as of 10:15 a.m.

Retail investors drove the index higher, net buying 1.16 trillion won ($786.4 million) worth of shares, while foreign and institutional investors sold a net 1.15 trillion won and 20.4 billion won, respectively.

Shares of Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, the country’s two semiconductor heavyweights, both hit fresh highs of 277,000 won and 1.648 million won, respectively.

Samsung Electronics rose 2.07 percent to 271,500 won, while SK hynix gained 1.12 percent to 1.62 million won as of 10:15 a.m.


silverstar@heraldcorp.com