Seoul: South Korean stocks continued their bull run Thursday to set a new all-time high, nearing the 4,800 mark, driven by gains in the chip and auto sectors. The local currency saw a sharp rise against the U.S. dollar following a verbal intervention from Washington.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose by 74.45 points, or 1.58 percent, finishing at a record 4,797.55. This marked the 10th consecutive day of gains since the start of the year, with trade volume heavy at 540 million shares valued at 23.6 trillion won (US$16 billion). Foreign and institutional investors significantly contributed to this surge, purchasing a net 334.4 billion won and 1.3 trillion won, respectively, while individual investors sold off a net 1.8 trillion won.

Semiconductor and auto shares were pivotal in driving this record-breaking rally. Samsung Electronics, the largest memory chipmaker globally, saw its shares rise by 2.57 percent to 143,900 won, with SK hynix also advancing by 0.94 percent to 749,000 won. In the automotive sector, Hyundai Motor's shares increased by 2.55 percent to 422,000 won, while Kia's shares soared by 6.64 percent to 152,500 won.

Korea Zinc, a prominent zinc smelter, experienced a surge of 11.47 percent to 1.44 million won, and the steel giant POSCO Holdings gained 1.88 percent to 351,500 won. In the entertainment industry, K-pop powerhouse Hybe rose 2.27 percent to 338,500 won after revealing the global tour schedules of superstar group BTS.

Conversely, Naver's shares fell by 4.62 percent to 247,500 won, and NCSOFT's shares decreased by 1.41 percent to 244,000, following the exclusion of their subsidiaries from a government-led competition to select developers for homegrown artificial intelligence (AI) foundation models.

The local currency was quoted at 1,469.7 won against the U.S. dollar at 3:30 p.m., up 7.8 won from the previous session, after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent commented on the weakening Korean won.