Seoul: South Korean stocks continued their bull run Thursday, setting a new all-time high and nearing the 4,800 mark, driven by strong gains in chip and auto sectors. The local currency, the won, 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) increased by 74.45 points, or 1.58 percent, to close at a record 4,797.55. This marked the 10th consecutive day of gains since the start of the year. Trade volume was significant, with 540 million shares valued at 23.6 trillion won (approximately US$16 billion), and winners outnumbering losers 482 to 389.
Foreign and institutional investors contributed to the index's rise by purchasing a net 334.4 billion won and 1.3 trillion won, respectively, while individual investors sold a net 1.8 trillion won. The record-breaking rally was primarily driven by semiconductor and auto shares.
Samsung Electronics, the largest memory chipmaker globally, rose 2.57 percent to 143,900 won, with SK hynix advancing 0.94 percent to 749,000 won. Hyundai Motor, the top automaker, increased 2.55 percent to 422,000 won, and Kia surged 6.64 percent to 152,500 won.
Korea Zinc, a prominent zinc smelter, saw an 11.47 percent increase to 1.44 million won, and steel company POSCO Holdings rose 1.88 percent to 351,500 won. K-pop company Hybe climbed 2.27 percent to 338,500 won after announcing the global tour schedules of BTS.
Conversely, Naver experienced a decline, dropping 4.62 percent to 247,500 won, and NCSOFT fell 1.41 percent to 244,000 after their subsidiaries were excluded from a government-led competition for developing homegrown artificial intelligence foundation models.
The local currency was quoted at 1,469.7 won against the dollar, up 7.8 won from the prior session, following remarks by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent regarding the weakening Korean won. Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed significantly lower, with the yield on three-year Treasurys rising 9.4 basis points to 3.090 percent, and the return on five-year government bonds increasing 8.4 basis points to 3.324 percent.